Exiled
by fantasyra
Summary: In a world of super powers, anything can happen. A young girl can gain special abilities from the ashes of the most tragic event of her life. A man who lost everything might find a place for himself. Looking back, I sometimes wonder what would have happened had we never met. While I'm sure a lot of people would have preferred that, I have never been one of them.
1. Divergence Annette 1

Special thanks to EA for the Mass Effect Trilogy and Wildbow for the epic tale that is Worm. Materia Blade, MarkerIV, and TheBSDude for looking through this fic.

Standard Disclaimer. I don't own Worm, or Mass Effect. Just playing with their epic stories.

**Divergence; Annette 1**

"You're…?"

I took a stab at answering the question. "Taylor. Eighteen."

"I would have been in college…"

"You were. Well, _she_ was. Mom met a magnificent, dorky guy with a warm heart and an awful lot of passion. He worshiped her, and she… I think he gave her permission to do what she really wanted to do in life, at a time when her parents were being controlling. Her mother never really forgave my dad for luring you off the track she'd set for her, getting you pregnant with me so early in life."

Annette smiled. "What did she end up doing?"

"Teaching. She was a professor at a University, teaching English."

Annette's eyes moved to her book on the table, but when she responded, it was in negation. "I can't really see that, I'm afraid."

I nodded. I remembered what mom said she was studying when she met dad. As Annette took a moment to gather her thoughts I looked around the cafe. It was nice, but kind of what you would expect for a place that catered to the white collars in the offices around us. Not really my thing but I could see what Annette liked about it.

The table we were sitting at was outside, which was nice as the day was pretty. Not too cold at the moment though it was very chilly this morning when I got off the express. The other dinners around us were dressed in their working finery which meant respectable dresses and suits. Not quite upscale as I thought of it, but definitely working on it. A far cry from the kinds of people I normally associated with.

I was brought out of my wanderings when Annette asked her next question. "Your father?"

"He's dead too." I answered bluntly which seemed to shock Annette a bit. "At least, I think he's dead. Probably best if he thinks _I'm_ dead even if he's not. I… didn't have the courage to check, at the end. Before…, we weren't exactly on speaking terms and no one who knew me offered information one way or the other. It was… It was a really hectic time, there at the end..."

Annette nodded sadly though I could see she was somewhat confused by my answer. "I'm so sorry. It can't be easy… I, don't know what to say. Saying you have my condolences seems really under par for what you've lost…"

"It's alright. Thanks for your concern."

The silence between us came again which allowed me to study her. Something I hadn't directly done since I sat down at her table. She looked so much like mom, which shouldn't have surprised me any since she was biologically identical to my mother. Same long brown hair so similar to my own. Soft cobalt blue eyes that shown with a deep intelligence. Both were thin but not disturbingly so but I didn't think any differences would have been in that regard.

Still, regardless that I was expecting the similarity's it was sort of shocking. Though as I continued to study her I noticed she didn't have moms scar to the side of her left eye. It was probably the first physical difference I noticed between them. For the life of me I couldn't remember if mom ever told me where she got it from. I wanted to say it was from when she ran with Lustrum, but couldn't say why I thought that. Maybe dad mentioned it once…

"I… I admit I'm finding myself more and more at a loss for words, as my curiosity is sated. I feel like I should say something meaningful, so you didn't spend all this time trying to find some woman without anything to say. It would be easier if I knew what you wanted. It makes it hard to tailor my response."

"I'm not expecting anything profound or special," I assured her. "I thought I'd visit, refresh myself on what she looked like before I move on. I… I'm sort of in the same boat as you. There's a lot I want to say and explain, when it comes to _me_, I want to raise ideas that have been crossing my mind lately, but I'd have to tell a really long story before I could even begin, and I'm not sure I'm brave enough to tell that story."

"Do you want to try?"

"Telling the story?"

I blew out my breath as I thought about it. Did I really want to? At heart, this was sort of what I wanted to do. Why I tracked her down. Still. "A lot happened…"

"I'm a good listener. You seem like you could use someone to hear your story."

"It's not a 'nice' story."

"I'll try and keep that in mind."

I nodded. "If you're sure… Well, I guess it really started when my mom died. Car accident, just one of those random things you know? I had a hell of a time with high school. By most people's standards I fell in with a bad crowd, though I love the friends I made at that time. My first real friends, truth be told and I surprisingly can't imagine better. But it came at a cost and my dad and I parted ways…"

"I'm not sure I understand. Does this have something to do with," Annette waggled her fingers. "Powers?"

I smiled thinking back to those days. Back when things weren't so complicated. When all I had to worry about was staying alive. "In a lot of ways, yeah, it does. Especially with my dad."

"I guess I might have to hear the whole story before I could contribute," Annette said. "But a lot of people go through hard experiences and I'm pretty sure they feel something like you're feeling."

"Ever since y- since my mom died, it's been this constant, unending struggle to find some kind of peace. Peace with her death, school, and all the shit that happened later. The harder I tried, the further it went out of my reach. Then I meet Sebastian. Not that didn't come with its own struggle's but after… well, now- now I'm _here_ and it's right _there_, waiting for me to take it and I'm suddenly wondering if… If I do what I am setting myself to do, will it last? Will the cost be too great... I, I don't know…"

"Sounds like you can't bring yourself to come to terms with whatever decisions you made, or maybe it is the decisions you have to make going forward?"

"It's been..._ Fuck_, you're just a stranger, and I'm burdening you with this shit you don't understand. I don't- I-"

I stopped, choking on the lump in my throat.

Annette stood from her chair. "Come on."

I shook my head. People were looking. I stared down at the table, and the upside-down book cover. "Y- you should go. I- I picked this spot because I knew you'd be leaving to go back to work, didn't wanna keep you too long."

Annette reached down, taking hold of my wrists, where I'd jammed my hands in my pockets. She stopped short as one hand came free and clunked against the side of the chair, limp and dangling. I avoided looking upward so I wouldn't have to see the surprise on her face.

"Hav- haven't gotten used to it. Had a better one," Taylor mumbled. "Before...shit happened. Embarrassed self on train when I forgot not to use it."

Still avoiding looking at Annette, self-conscious, I used my left hand to try and jam the artificial arm into my jacket pocket, failed, and then partially stood, to get a better angle.

Annette took advantage of the movement to fold me into a hug. I stiffened. Flight or fight instincts honed through the crucible that was my past kicked in. Options for escape, both the arms around me and the threat of someone being so close, rampaged in my mind. Panic at being touched warred with how nice it felt. Familiar in the way half-forgotten memories were.

"I think," Annette said, "You have plenty of time to find that peace you were talking about."

_Not nearly as much time as you think…_

I didn't move, with my face mashed into Annette's shoulder. It felt so good and it's been so long since I received one of my mom's hugs. I couldn't help myself. For just a moment I let myself _pretend_.

I was eight, and all was well, even the evils and disasters of the world were fringe things. Endbringers in other countries, bad guys who I never had to pay attention to. Home, peace, safety. It's been so long since I felt that anywhere but with Sebastian I'd almost forgotten…

"I don't know what happened," Annette murmured. "I'm almost afraid to ask. But I don't think you can let one decision you made in a time of stress cause you so much grief."

"Thousand decisions," Taylor mumbled into her shoulder.

"What?"

"It's not just the one decision. It's all of them, pressing down on me." I swallowed thickly as I tried to choke out my next few words. " I'm- I was a monster, Annette."

"Looking at you right now, I find that hard to believe."

It wasn't the right answer. It didn't make me feel better. Just the opposite. "You have _no_ idea..."

Annette pulled back holding my arms as she looked me in the eye. "That's why you looked me up, isn't it? Were you, I don't know, looking for a second opinion?"

I felt a tear at my trek down my face. "Kinda… I know you're not her, but... I, when I was home, I would talk to her grave. It made me feel better but there was always something off about it. I couldn't get feedback from her, she couldn't ask questions. It's a lot to ask, and if you're not comfortable with this, I'm gone. You don't have to worry about me. I'll never bother you again."

I didn't say I wouldn't be able too. She didn't need to know about that.

Annette helped me to sit before retaking her chair looking me in the eye the entire time. "I'm worried you might take my reactions to be the same as what your mother would give. I could do more harm than good, even just listening."

Somehow, I doubted she could do anymore damage to me than I had already done. "I think, that is what I need the most. An honest opinion from someone unbiased. From someone who wasn't there to help give me the perspective I need…"

Annette was quiet for several moments before she nodded. "Are you looking for absolution? It sounds so stupid to say it like that but, it almost sounds like you're looking for approval or something."

I winced. "Not absolution. I don't expect approval for the things I've done. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get it, no matter who I talked to. Well, except from Sebastian… but that's a special case. I guess, I'm just looking for a fresh set of eyes on what happened. It won't change anything, but maybe, maybe I'll understand it better I guess?"

"Okay. Why don't we try the beginning? What do you think was the catalyst for when things started?"

I snorted wiping my eyes and pulling myself together. A question I could actually answer. "I bet you're probably thinking it was when I trig… when I manifested powers." I smiled sadly at the surprised look on her face. "It was actually about three months later."

"I assumed, but it's still shocking to know you have them. For you, it had been going on for what, thirty years? More? It's only been a few here. It's all still pretty new."

_Don't I know the truth about that…_

Part of me hoped the glow; the shine of the idea would last forever. Like it was with me just before everything went south. But I knew it wouldn't. It was already starting, even if these people didn't know it. One look at their news feeds showed all the proof anyone needed.

"Yeah. So, about three months after I got powers…"

*****Authors Note:**

Pre Story Notes:

-Crossover, Worm with Mass Effect 1-3. All set in Wormverse.  
>-My first Worm fic<br>- Setting the story so parts are fairly recognizable. This segment is the only one where this happens. The first Story Arc is called Divergence for a reason.  
>-Yes, there will be segments that take place in the 'Present' while most of the story takes place in the past.<p>

.  
>Character Notes:<br>Taylor-No graphic changes from cannon, though she's coming out less self sure in the beginning than she did in Worm. This changes as the story, and her character evolves. The story, aside from interludes, is from Taylor's perspective. Not a style I'm used to writing, so feel free to let me know if I slip.  
>Shepard-Renegade style Shepard. BioticEngineer. People may notice some serious character issues with Shep, this is intentional and will be explained as the story, and his character evolves. Story is pretty centric around both characters.


	2. Divergence 1

**Divergence 1.1**

My thoughts were on Emma Barnes as the bus jerked forward forcing me to catch myself or sprawl across the seat I was trying to occupy. I ignored the rumble of the bus as is picked up speed. I ignored the stares from the other passengers. At least, I tried too. An obvious high school teen on a public bus, covered in soda and juice splotches, and reeking of said beverages, tended to draw attention. My luck held true as I ended up drawing the wrong kind of attention. No help, no encouragement, nothing but whispers, gawking stares, sneers. Just another wonderful day in my life.

Just another day in a year and a half long campaign to break me. My entire high school life. Freshmen year wasn't so bad I guess. At least last year I didn't have to hide in the girl's toilet to be able to eat my lunch in peace. Of course, that was after they found my hiding spot under the bleachers. Though in retrospect, it wasn't that original of a hiding spot to begin with. Probably why it took them so long to find it, too obvious. Sadly, once they did they went out of their way to make sure I wouldn't go back. They didn't like not being able to find me when they wanted. Can't harass someone who can't be easily found.

Then this year started with the same old slow escalation of pranks, snide comments, remarks, and attacks. All of it building to the incident three months ago. That incident led me to being hospitalized for a week. Psychotic break down the doctors said. Something else entirely, I knew.

Since then, none of the assaults had been as graphic, but that didn't mean much. They still pushed hoping the next time I broke, I would stay broken. They kept the pressure on me every moment. Degrading emails, encouraging others to whisper about me. Attacks against myself or my belongings whenever they could get away with it. Always pushing me, trying to wear me down, make me react.

I swallowed thickly still trying to ignore the stares and whispers of the people around me. I would be so easy just to go Carrie on the school. It would be _so_ easy. I can't say I didn't think about it a time or ten. They had no idea what they created last January. They had _no_ idea that if I lost control, it wasn't just possible I would hurt them. It was a certainty. They only question would be if I could regain control before my power killed them.

Or, if I would even try.

I didn't want that. I didn't want to be a villain. Ever since my power became active, all I wanted was to find a way to be a hero. Make a difference. Like Alexandria or Miss Militia. Or even Glory Girl. Turn this negative into a positive.

Not that my power was anything compared to theirs. They were _real _heroes, with _real_ powers. I wasn't invulnerable to everything from bullets to Endbringers. I couldn't fly or shoot lasers out of my hands. I couldn't stand toe to toe with the big name villains and expect to survive.

All I could do was control bugs. Not exactly hero material. But that is what I wanted more than anything. It's why I held back against my tormentors. I knew if I retaliated, even without using my powers, it would escalate until I had to use my bugs to stop them. The second I did that, I lost. Over the last thirty years that people had been manifesting powers, laws sprung up to deal with them. Any parahuman who used their powers, in some cases even marginally, against a normal human went to jail. Or the Birdcage, if you were really dangerous enough. Or if your crime or power was scary enough. In extreme cases where there was a high enough body count, or if they couldn't get you inside the Birdcage for whatever reason, they put out a kill order on you. Not only was it legal to do it, but most of the time, bounties were even placed on you to make it more enticing for it to happen.

Fuck that.

I wasn't ruining my life. Not for them. Not for this. Besides, I was better than that.

Brockton Bay, like pretty much any cape city, had a lot of gangs. Not the usual run of the mill gangs either, but cape gangs. They did pretty much the same stuff as regular gangs, but just bigger. Deadlier. There were several in the city, and each of these from the minor to the major had a cape at the head. Gangs like Empire Eighty Eight had over twenty they could call on. Serious super villains with back up, agendas, and connections. Those guys committed crimes or killed people and got away with it. Those kinds of capes usually didn't stay in jail long Wasn't that uncommon to see the occasional transit to the Birdcage get intercepted if the gang was big or strong enough. It happened more than a few times.

The Bay also had its heroes. Like the Protectorate. The Wards, mostly teens like me who had powers, but more organized with expectations each would join the Protectorate when they got old enough.

Then there were groups like New Wave. The only hero family anywhere who openly proclaimed who they were, and yes, they were parahumans. They had regular 'day jobs' and everything, doing their superhero thing at night or whenever they happened to come across a crime in progress. They still wore costumes like the rest of the capes worldwide, but they didn't hide their true identity.

Unwilling to think about all that anymore I looked at my stained and rumpled backpack before I reached for it. I cringed at my first look at the damage. The first thing I noticed was that my notebook was practically ruined. Grape Juice had soaked through at least a quarter of the pages with the ink already running in places. I felt myself tearing up just looking at it.

Over two months of work… Gone. I had everything in that notebook. All my preparations, all my contingency ideas for my cape life. All my costume variations, even my research into various different uses different bugs could provide for a wide range of possible scenarios. With all the harassment from Emma, Madison, and Sophia I wrote the whole thing in code, from bottom to top. I wouldn't be able to recover all of it, not with this damage. It would probably take me a week just to salvage the bulk.

I felt the tear fall from my eye as I looked down at, what was essentially, all the hopes for my future life as a hero ruined.

I was so focused on my notebook I didn't even feel the bus stop. Nor did I know anyone had gotten on until I felt something drape across my shoulders startling me enough to make me jump. A young man, couldn't have been much older than me, adjusted what I assumed was his hoodie. I sat stone still looking at him with what I could only imagine was a deer in the headlights look. He ignored me pulling the hood over my head adjusting it until it partially obscured my face.

I bowed my head not knowing what to do with this. I wasn't used to anyone caring, except for my dad, much less a complete stranger. I felt my shame burn along my cheeks as I tried to make myself even more unnoticeable in my seat. His kindness seemed to compound my problems even more.

I watched the stranger sit next to me, folding his muscular arms. He just sat there looking at the other passengers. His hair was cut shorter than I'd ever seen any teen wear except for the Jr. R.O.T.C kids who planned to go into the military. His face had an intensity to it that I'd never seen in anyone before. As if he could project his disappointment in the people around us through his striking green eyes. Or how he clinched his strong jaw poorly hidden by the light goatee he was trying to grow in. Even the way he held himself, relaxed but somehow still rigid as if he expected he would have to beat his point into everyone he looked at.

Seemingly willing, even _eager,_ to do so if given the slightest encouragement.

As I continued my silent observation I noted how built he was. Not freakish or overblown like I'd seen some jocks get up to but very well-toned. Lean muscle with just enough bulk that told me he worked out a lot shown through his faded ACDC T-shirt that was stretched a bit tightly across his chest. Even his jeans were form fitting enough to see he probably ran track or at least took the time to balance out his workouts so that every part of him was well tuned. He couldn't have been much older than me but there was something about him that made him seem a lot older.

The people he looked at stopped whispering. None of them would meet his gaze for more than a moment before they got uncomfortable and wouldn't meet them again.

I hitched my shoulders a bit lower. I was suddenly even more aware of the fact I was covered in juices and soda and the fact, sitting next to me, he could probably smell it. As the silence stretched on I could feel every sticky damp part of my clothes against my skin. Even the weight of the hoodie draped over me settled on my consciousness.

Of course, it made perfect sense in my world view that at this low point in my life, a guy would pay attention to me. It didn't help that the boy next to me was good looking and I looked like I just stepped off the set of a Nickelodeon special.

"Thanks…" I half whispered to him.

His light baritone replied. "No problem."

His voice held a sureness to it I couldn't explain. I only recognized it because I'd never heard anyone talk that way. It was strangely comforting, yet hard. No, not hard I thought. Firm.

We passed the next two stops that way. Me sitting hunkered in his sweater like it could protect me from the world, and the stranger frowning at anyone who dared to look my way. I'd never rode the bus and felt that safe. It was a surreal experience. Feeling safe, and not being home.

When he finally did speak I couldn't help but jump.

"Can't be easy." The strange teen stated.

His voice caught me off guard. So much was said in the tone alone. Like he _knew_. "S...sorry?"

I looked at him. Not fully but out to the corner of my eye. He still wasn't looking right at me. Still frowning at the few gawkers brave enough to still whisper about me. "Carrying a weight like that. After a while, sort of feels like living with a gun to your head. Any misstep and it could go off. Every time you get jostled, it feels like the last. Can't be easy."

"W...what makes you think th, that?"

"Experience." He answered without a trace of hesitation. I felt myself blink. By his tone of voice alone, I could almost believe he meant it.

He finally turned to face me fully. His eyes took me by surprise. There was something there. Some combination of sadness, strength, and protectiveness. So many emotions flickered in that moment I couldn't even guess at the range.

I blinked several times as the moment passed. He adopted a more playful look complete with a slight smirk. "So, since this has the potential to get weird, I'm Shepard. Sebastian Shepard."

His smirk was infections and I couldn't help but smile slightly back. "Taylor Hebert."

For a moment I forgot my circumstance. His firm grip didn't crush mine but left me with the impression it, like everything else about him, was controlled. The rest of the ride to my stop passed in silence neither of us broke. It was comfortable.

Once we did reach my stop I felt my flush return to my cheeks again. I moved to return his hoodie but he stopped me by rising so I could exit while shaking his head.

"Keep it."

"I couldn't…"

"Sure you can. I can always get another sweater. However, you only get this one chance to finish your journey. I'll not pry, not my business, but you look like you've had a nasty day. The chance to make it better is worth the price of cloth."

I rose picking up my pack looking fully into his face. He had a kind smile. "If you're sure…"

He nodded easily. "Absolutely. There can never be enough kindness in the world. Maybe one day, you'll help someone else. Brighten their bad day in a way that makes a difference. Even if it's just the cost of some of your time, or a hoodie. I've learned a long time ago, it makes more of a difference than most people think it will."

He didn't keep his voice down and I could see the effect his words had on the other passengers. Several looked away from us, as if they were ashamed of their inaction. I felt myself tearing up again. This time in gratitude instead of in anger or frustration. I nodded unable to say more before making my way off the bus and walking the last block or so to my house.

As I did, I turned Sebastian's words over in my mind. My costume was almost ready. Even without my notes I could finish the last few bits within a week. It was then I realized I'd been procrastinating over taking the plunge and starting my career as a hero trying to out think all possible contingencies. Originally I had planned to make my debut this summer, continuing my planning and training for that time. I thought it would take that long to save up the money I would need for things I couldn't make myself. Now, as I thought about this random act of kindness from a stranger my thoughts realigned.

I'd go next week.

Still thinking I unlocked the back door to my house making my way to the upstairs shower that had my name in it. I dropped my pack on the floor stepping into the tub before stripping out of my clothes. The only one that didn't end up on the bottom of the tub was the hoodie Sebastian gave to me. I carefully folded it up and put it on the toilet before turning on the water, getting it as hot as I could stand it. Hopefully I could salvage my clothes, but their condition was far down on my thought list at the moment.


	3. Divergence 2

**Divergence 1.2**

I groggily turned to look hatefully at my alarm clock. The evil contraption sat there innocently, beeping away signaling that it was 4:45. I reached over turning it off allowing the pleasant thought of just going back to sleep roll through my head before deciding against it. I knew if I didn't get up for my run, it would be easier to not do so the next day. It would ruin months of effort.

I rose from the comfortable hollow of blankets and fought the chill in the air as I went about my routine. Morning necessities, nightclothes in the hamper, running clothes thrown on. I hoped the spring chill wouldn't last much longer. As I reached my closet I looked through my old sweatshirts. After discarding most of them as being too heavy my eyes fell on the black hoodie draped on my chair.

I picked it up giving it a serious look. I didn't recognize the material but it was slightly thick and surprisingly lighter than I thought it would be. The only break from the dark black was on the right breast. A white 'N7' was stitched there followed by a red triangle. I didn't recognize the logo or what it was supposed to mean but I wasn't exactly up to date on the latest trends normal people got into either.

When I looked I didn't see a wash tag inside. Custom made? I shook my head as my feelings ran away from me. He gave me a custom made hoodie and didn't even think twice about it, just so my walk home would be a little better.

Who the hell did that?

No one I knew. Hell, no one I ever heard of either.

Decision made I put it on grabbing a small tube of pepper spray that my dad insisted I carry with me on my runs. Silly considering what I was capable of, but he didn't know that and I'd promised him I would carry it. As I passed his door I noticed he was still asleep. He'd be awake by the time I got back though. He had work today. I'd get to see him when I got back at least.

As I locked the back door behind me I started with my stretches. I'd learned my lesson when I first started not to just set off without them. I winced just thinking of the craps I earned that day. Thank god it only lasted a few hours. Otherwise it would have earned the top spot for wretchedness, even over my monthlies. As it was, it earned a close second, hence why the pre stretches. Once done I started out, heading east along one of several routes I varied through.

It was nice getting up earlier than usual to do my run. It was cooler than I liked but that didn't last long as got into a rhythm. My exertions and clothing kept me plenty warm. Warm breath fogged out as I exhaled contrasting with the chill air as I breathed through my nose. At the fourth block of my route I ramped up my pace from a jog to a full run taking in the city as I sped past. Only people with a long commute were even awake at this hour. The streets were empty giving the areas I passed the feeling I'd imagine a ghost town would have, but in a good way. As I made a left turn at Clement and Rawlings the twilight hour slowly faded as the skyline brightened with the rising sun.

I never bothered with counting blocks or miles for my runs. I just let myself fall into the rhythm occasionally pushing myself further when I felt a certain route was too easy or didn't give me the burn I was looking for. It led to longer routes or crisscrossing patterns depending on the area of the city I was running though. However, in Brockton Bay anyone going east, no matter which direction you came from, ended up in the same location. The Boardwalk.

Like all tourist traps, I imagined, The Boardwalk was designed and maintained for maximum impact. Shops galore, eateries, various other establishments all tied together along a stretch of shoreline tastefully maintained to give the most visual impact it could. All high priced enough to make sure the rich had a good time and felt important, while the modest or poorer locals who could barely afford a coffee, fifteen bucks a piece was fucking ridiculous, feel like coming here was some kind of special outing.

The Boardwalk even had their own security. Rough looking guys who kept the panhandlers or lesser criminals away. Granted, they couldn't stop the majority of the city's villains from doing something but even _they_ understood the importance of the Boardwalk. Any of the city's gangs who decided to hit here would quickly find themselves on the bad side of every other villain and hero in the city. It was too important to city revenues or something. Having been raised here I understood it was one of those unwritten things everyone played by in the unending power struggles of either side of capes. However, what made the Bay's Boardwalk distinct from any other shoreline city was the view. Even natives of the Bay were drawn to it. It was also another added element why villains so rarely, if ever, caused problems here.

I rounded the last turn of my run before slowing down just as the street gave way to the wooden walkways. I kept myself from just stopping, instead slowing down keeping a slow but steady pace. It was still early but I could see vans parked in front of various business unloading supplies for the start of the day. Nothing was open yet and there were very few people about here. Wouldn't be for another hour or so. Merchants of the Boardwalk were very predictable that way. The running joke was if you lived near here, you knew the time of day based on what was happening. It was something I could agree with just based on what I saw every morning.

I slowed down to a steady walk heading to the end of one of the piers. I didn't come here every day to see them. There, floating in the sky above the bay, was the Protectorate Base of Brockton Bay. Like a small artificial island it hovered majestically in complete disregard to the laws of the universe. Well, the laws that ascribed to every non cape on the planet.

The skyline was brightening up in its kaleidoscope of pre-dawn colors. The sounds of the water as it splashed against the pier adding their notes to the visual display served as a picturesque backdrop to the floating structure of chrome and glass. Usually when I got here the sun had already risen so this was the first time I got to experience the scene like this.

Having finally winded down from my run enough to stop I took in a deep breath of the sea air. I hadn't walked the full length of the pier yet. Just enough so that stopping wouldn't hurt my return run. I would have to start my runs this early from now on. This was nice.

The sound of clicking metal broke me from my musing. I turned to look toward the end of the pier noticing for the first time that someone else was also enjoying the view.

Sitting in one of the benches facing the water sat a teen. The clinking I heard was the zippo he used to light a cigarette. From where I was I could see the side of his face as he looked outward as if he was deeply lost in thought. Even though I recognized him easily enough from the incident yesterday, it was his sweater that caught my attention first. It was identical to my own.

I stood undecided as I watched him pick up a thermos and pour himself a cup of something. Wisps of steam flowed from the cup as he sealed the thermos back up before taking a sip. For a while he just held the cup in his hand while taking slow drags from the cigarette staring forward. I wondered if he even noticed I was here.

_Did_ I want him too? Did I _not_ want him too?

I was so horrible with this kind of thing. Part of me wanted to forget I noticed him. Just turn around and start my run back home. The other part of me was horribly curious about him. I looked around taking note that for all practical purposes it looked like we were the only people awake at this time of the morning.

At least if I embarrassed myself it would just be him that knew it. As I looked back at him I thought I could live with that.

_Okay, you can do this…_

I took a few halting steps toward him building up my courage. Just as I walked into his peripheral vision a horrible thought struck me.

Yesterday, he saw me saturated in juices and soda, looking a wreck. At just that moment I saw an image of myself. Unflattering faded sweatpants, not that I had anything to flatter, and slightly worn running shoes. Really the nicest thing I had on was his sweatshirt. Messy hair clumped in a rough tail at the back of my head. Sweat over my flushed face. Strands of loose hair plastered to me or torn loose from my exertions.

Did I smell? I never noticed before if I did but that didn't mean _he_ wouldn't. I didn't even have any makeup or anything. For what felt like the first time I wished I was more of a typical girl. At least then I would have brought a makeup bag to freshen up with or something. Just in case of situations like this. Hell, maybe I'd even _own_ something like that to have brought with me.

I felt my eyes widen at my thoughts. I couldn't do it. This was stupid.

Too late, I realized. His head turned to me as I stood in hesitation. His eyes looked immediately on mine, instantly sharpening.

I froze as if caught doing something naughty. Like a five year old with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Whatever I expected his reaction to me to be, I found myself surprised by the genuine smile that appeared on his face. "Hey. I didn't expect to see you again."

I blinked away my uncertainty now that I was committed. I tried to smile assuredly but was pretty sure it came out the exact opposite of what I intended. "Um, yeah."

I saw his eyes flicker over me for just a moment. Not creepy like, but more assessing. His smile grew warmer as he took note of my attire.

"Been running eh? A good morning for it. Would you like some coffee to fight the chill?"

Coffee sounded good. The warmth of my run was pretty much gone and the warmth of my embarrassment didn't quite do the same thing for me. "I want."

I immediately wanted to kick myself for falling into caveman speak in front of him. Still, this was going better than I expected. Sebastian slid over some giving me room to sit next to him. As I did so he picked up his thermos. He poured a cup for me into the cap before refilling his own cup.

As I raised the cup to my lips I caught the slight scent of vanilla from the light brown beverage. It tasted even better. A lot stronger than I was used to but not so bitter that I choked. I figured whatever he used for creamer probably did that.

"Ummm, that's really good. Did you get it from one of the coffee shops here?" I asked. They were the only thing open at this hour.

His light chuckle preceded his answer. "No. Something I make myself. I'm not a fan of the local attempts at coffee. If you spend enough time like I have pulling long stretches without rest you learn to appreciate what a good cup of coffee can do for you. A real cup of coffee should be strong enough to kill the living, and wake the dead. Most of the ones I tried from here don't quite do that for me."

"Oh." I awkwardly contributed. I took another sip looking out over the water stalling for time as I tried to come up with something less asinine than his coffee to talk about. Even if it was really good.

"Um, come here often?" I asked fighting the reflex to wince at how stupid that sounded. I was worse than horrible at this stuff.

Thankfully he didn't seem to think anything about it and answered easily. "More so in the last month than in the past. The sunrise is beautiful here. Reminds me of… a few places I've been. Before. You?"

"I usually end up here during my runs. Though this is the first time early enough to watch the sunrise."

Sebastian nodded still looking ahead. "Probably explains why I've never seen you before. I usually go right afterward myself."

We descended into silence. He refilled my cup as I finished. It didn't take long before the magic moment of sunrise hit. We watched the colors shift slightly before the sun started to appear at the waterline. It had risen halfway before either of us spoke again.

His baritone brought my focus from the view to him. "It's nicer with company to share the experience."

I agreed. It was nice, but I didn't say anything right away. Something about his tone caught my attention. Questions I wanted to ask came out wrong even in my head which kept me from saying anything out loud. Instead I nodded to his point drinking the last of the coffee he shared with me.

"Are you new to Brockton Bay?" I finally came up with. As I waited for his response I couldn't help but feel like small talk was really just not my thing. This was quickly becoming painful.

"Sort of. Been in town about six months or so now. I don't get out much. Keep mostly to myself unless I need something."

_Wierd_. I thought. "Don't you go to school?"

Sebastian shook his head. "Not in a long time."

I couldn't help but frown slightly. He was about my age so he either tested out, or dropped out. The second option didn't fit very well with what I had learned of him so far. Dropouts rarely could afford custom clothing unless they were either gang members, or…

I clamped down on that thought. One, there were rules about that sort of thing. No matter how much you might suspect, you didn't just out someone with powers. Not even like this where it was unlikely anyone could hear. It was a quick way to either piss off a cape, or get killed. Usually both depending on the cape in question. Especially if they were a villain but I didn't think that was the case here. He just didn't seem the type. However as I thought about it I realized I wasn't sure what I would do if someone asked me if I had powers. I know I wouldn't like it though.

I shook my head. It was more likely that he tested out than either of the other two things. He didn't seem the gang type, and there wasn't any delicate way I could question him if he was a cape without upsetting him, or revealing I was one too. No matter how curious I was.

Instead, I tried to divert the conversation into a different direction. A safer one I hoped. "Thank you again. For yesterday, and for the sweater. That was really nice of you."

The young man sitting next to me smiled. I once again thought to myself it was really a nice smile. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help."

"I noticed this morning it didn't have a tag or anything. Custom?" I asked.

"Yeah. I had a few made a couple of months ago. I tried getting a local vendor to do it but the quality wasn't what I was expecting. Not durable enough. Some research on your local extranet led me to a young woman who goes by the handle 'Parian'. She does good work."

I blinked in shock. I knew a little about her from the Parahumans Online site and knew she was a local rogue whose powers dealt with clothing. I even vaguely remembered something from an interview she gave a month ago that she was a fashion student or something. It wasn't just custom made, but fucking _cape_ made? By _Parian_ of all people?

_Holy shit._

"Seriously?"

Sebastian turned to look at me raising an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"I mean, seriously?" I sputtered. "You had Parian make you some clothes, and then gave one of them away to a stranger?"

His smile turned crooked as amusement replaced confusion in his eyes. "Worth the price to help a pretty girl out of a bad spot."

I felt my eyes widen behind my glasses.

I was as far from what anyone would think of as 'pretty' as the Slaughterhouse Nine were from being considered 'humanitarians'. My arms and legs were stick thin and I had the womanly curves of a flat board. Just looking at both my Mom and Dad I knew there wasn't any hope of being a late bloomer to wish for. How many times had I been, depressingly, mistaken for a boy? Really the only feminine feature that I had was my long hair.

That… that wasn't a flirting pass. He had to be teasing me. He _was _teasing me, or he was gay. My mind couldn't accept anything else.

Had he not noticed I was, in fact, a girl, I would have banked on him being gay. That would have been my luck.

"Besides," He interrupted my thoughts. "What's so special about Parian? Other than the fact she makes a good product."

"Seriously? I mean, she's a Cape."

His eyes glassed over in confusion for a moment before they cleared up again. "So, the fact she's… what was the term I read the other day, Parahuman? That makes her special?"

I nodded not seeing why he was confused over that. "Huh."

My confusion deepened. How could he not understand that? He said he'd been in the city for a few months. Unless he lived under a rock his entire life prior, there was no reason he couldn't have understood.

After a moment he just shrugged a shoulder. "I guess I didn't see the significance. In hindsight I can't say it would have changed anything. Still worth it."

A large part of me wanted to argue that it wasn't. That_ I_ wasn't worth it.

A half-starved, smaller but growing, part of me told that other part to shut the fuck up. It then proceeded to try and gag it. There may have been a beating involved. It may or may not have been vicious.

I blinked away the rampant influx of feelings, blushing as I opened my mouth to say something, when my watch beeped. I looked at it jumping as I realized how much time we spent watching the sunrise and talking. I was going to have to run hard to get home on time. Even with it being Saturday I was pretty sure Dad would be worried if I wasn't home before he left for work.

Seeing the look on my face as I looked at my watch I heard Sebastian speak. "I should go. Judging by the look on your face, you're running late yourself."

I smiled awkwardly. I didn't want to leave like this though. "Yeah. Um, will, will you be here tomorrow?"

His easy smile seemed to intensify my blush. God I hoped my face didn't look like it felt. "Sounds like a plan. It was good to see you again Taylor. Looking forward to tomorrow."

"Bye…" Could I handle this any worse? I thought as I half waved before fleeing.

I ran for all I was worth. By the time I got home I was out of breath, seriously flushed from my thoughts of the earlier encounter combined with my run, and only just on time. As I opened the back door I found it unlocked. I also noticed my dad.

"Taylor. Thank God, I was getting seriously worried."

I closed the back door still trying to catch my breath. My dad rose from the kitchen chair he was using to walk to me. His eyes looking over me, checking for damage.

"Sorry Dad. I um, meet someone on my run. Lost track of time." I stated still trying to catch my breath.

"No trouble I hope. Do I need to buy you another can of pepper spray?" He asked worriedly.

I shook my head. "Nothing like that. He, he was nice."

Dad's eye brow rose. Either at the fact I was talking with a guy, or the fact not all of the flush on my face could have been the result of my run. After all, he didn't know how far my runs usually took me. Even though the Boardwalk wasn't that far from where we lived, it was still a good distance on foot.

"Really?"

I ignored the leading tone to his voice. However, the shrewd look in his eyes left me with a slight feeling of trepidation. "Yeah..."

"Should I be worried that my daughter is meeting strange boys at the crack of dawn? Because, to be honest with you Taylor, that is something of a concern at the moment."

"It's not like that!" I blurted.

Not that I wouldn't mind if it was…

_Shut up. The last thing you need to do is put any more ideas in his head. _

_True, otherwise he'll insist on…_

"Maybe I should call in today so we can Talk."

Something about the way he said talk gave it a capital 'T'. Talk. Like in, 'The Talk'. _Oh no_, I thought. _Not again!_ We are _so_ not doing that again! My eyes widened in horror. "NO! No, we're good."

My dad's face, if anything, seemed even more uncomfortable than how I imagined mine looked. Nor did it looked particularly convinced. "I think I should…"

"No Dad, we're good. Seriously, it's not like that. I barely know him. Just a little conversation while I was getting my breath at the Boardwalk. There is absolutely no reason for that… kind of talk."

_Ever._ I mentally added. The first time was more than enough. Especially since it came right after I'd gotten my first period. No, _never again _if I had any control over it. I loved my Dad and appreciated how he tried his best to fill in for Mom after she died but there were some things that daughters just didn't talk about with their dads. No matter the reason. Sex and Menstruation were at the very top of that list.

"Okay. But we are going to talk about this mysterious young man when I get home tonight." He stated firmly.

I nodded knowing there wasn't any way out of it. I swallowed dryly. "Alright."

He nodded before giving me a hug. "Then I'll see you this evening."

I returned his hug. "Have a good day at work."

Dad smiled weakly as he moved away grabbing his keys. He didn't reply. We both knew what his day would consist of. Still, I could tell he at least appreciated my sentiment.

I leaned against the kitchen table getting myself under control. I reached out with my power taking control of a fly having it join my dad. It just made it zooming in as the door closed. Once it, and they, were out of my range I finally let out a breath and started to relax.

My mind churned over the impending talk with my dad as well as my two encounters with Sebastian, trying to make sense of it all.

The talk with my Dad later tonight was going to be uncomfortable but he was just worried about me. Knowing that wouldn't make it any easier to go through. Still, I had several hours to get it all straight in my head and be ready for the 'Daddy Interrogation' that would be the large focus of that talk. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anything else.

As for my thoughts on Sebastian, they were more muddled. I didn't know him well enough to say I _liked_ him that way yet, but I knew I found him attractive. He seemed very mature for his age. Something I found myself responding to very well. Despite my disastrous efforts at small talk, it wasn't that bad. He didn't seem to notice how badly I was out of my element. Not even being un-girly seemed to throw him off. His teasing aside, I doubted he knew enough about me either but that was something time would solve.

We even had as sort of date for tomorrow morning. That was something right?

As I was thinking I realized I was looking at the sweater he gave me yesterday. My thoughts turned to the kindness of that event.

A Parian made hoodie and he didn't even think twice about it. Never even occurred to him until I brought it up today what it meant.

I looked up unfocused as I directed my spiders in the basement to assemble on what was my workstation. It was about the only place I could think of that I could use without getting caught making my costume. Dad never went in there and there were no windows for anyone to see what I was doing. That was important because the last thing I wanted was to be outed before I even began my career. Besides, ever since dad installed the electric heater he never used the old coal one that was still down there. The old coal shoot was the perfect place to hide my cape things when I wasn't here.

That was especially important. The Protectorate, even the local villains looked out for that kind of thing. Seriously, our costumes were practically half of our new identities. Capes generally put in a lot of thought into it. Colors, styles, themes, even materials. It was the last part that usually got a new cape discovered. Depending on who caught them, decided what happened to them. Some ended up working for villains in order to protect their families or from exposure. You even had to watch what you bought because unfunded capes tended to need similar things.

My research into different bug uses is what brought me to overtaking the basement for my spiders. Silk production. Specifically, Black Widow silk. Tensile density almost as good as hardened steel but flexible. With my ability to control them absolutely it wasn't an issue to not only design my costume, but build it out of materials I didn't have to pay for or worry about being tracked. I brought in every spider in my range to supplement those I kept below. They could move surprisingly fast when I directed them but it would still take time for them to assemble. Which left me with a few moments to get my head strait.

I thought of what Sebastian told me yesterday on the bus. Letting it mingle with our talk this morning. He seemed like a good person in the way I liked to think of myself as a good person. I tried to put myself in his position. Would I have done something like that? Put myself out there to help someone else I saw was miserable? I spent the last year and a half trying to be invisible, fading into the background only drawn into the light when my tormentors were attacking. I wasn't so delusional to think bad things only happened to me, but when was the last time I made the effort to actually see what was happening around me?

I felt a nervous buzz of energy. A need to validate that small part of myself that responded to Sebastian. As my thoughts rolled around in this new vein I felt a desire start burning through me. I liked the feelings Sebastian gave me when we talked.

I liked that he thought I was worthy. It made me feel special even though I knew I wasn't. I wanted to own that feeling. It wasn't enough for him to give it; I wanted to have earned it. It… I don't think it would feel real unless I did. I nodded to myself as my thoughts realigned along this new path.

Fuck going next week.

I was going tonight.


	4. Divergence Annette 2

**Divergence Interlude, Annette 1.2**

I looked up sharply as the shadow that hit the table. I wasn't exactly panicked, more startled. It wasn't that I didn't know he was heading this direction just that I hadn't realized he was stopping at our table. I mean, we only just ordered didn't we?

Thankfully, Annette didn't notice my reaction. The waiter carrying our lunch placed a club sandwich in front of Annette as well a cold tea. For me, a New York hot dog with everything and the same tea as Annette.

It was the next day but this time I had gotten here early enough to share her whole lunch hour with her. She hadn't been scared off yet but I knew that would change as my story progressed. That or she would find this experience like watching a train wreck. Horrific, but not something you can turn away from. I really wasn't sure how I felt about that personally, though I would take what I could get.

Annette absentmindedly thanked the waiter not giving him much thought. I could tell she was still processing my story so far. I looked at him to do the same but only blinked in surprise. He was vaguely familiar.

I almost passed it off as nothing. This was an alternate earth than the one of my birth. It figured I'd see copies of people I knew from time to time right? At least, that was what I told myself before he meet my eyes and give me a slight nod of respect. It caught my attention enough that I took a closer look at him. He was older than me by at least a decade. Clean shaven, close cropped hair. I couldn't place him at first but nodded anyways like I had in the past, falling into old habits. It was as I realized what I was doing that I finally placed him. He'd cut his hair a lot shorter than he used to wear it but I think it was the contacts he was wearing that really through me. His eyes used to be brown I thought, but the waiters were blue. As he turned to walk away I caught the name listed on his nametag. Carlos. I almost snorted. He always did have a thing for Aegis. I let him walk away without saying anything, just filed the information away for later. I had a good idea why he was here.

"So horrible. Was your school life really that bad?"

I shrugged while trying to dig into my lunch with my plastic fork. As I thought about my response, I couldn't help but be distracted by the stray thought that it was almost sacrilegious to eat this with a fork. Not criminal, which anyone who knew the _real_ me knew how little that meant considering who I used to be, but sacrilegious just the same. I sighed. Wasn't the most 'evil' thing I'd done. Still, was it so wrong that I felt guiltier for it? "Worse probably but I was pretty used to it by then."

"What about your teachers? Surely they noticed what was happening?"

"Sure. It even came out later, but Emma's dad was a big shot lawyer with a lot of city connections. Add in over population of kids in a public school, the rampant gangs hidden in our ranks, and well, everything else I imagine they had going on and it wasn't hard for them to turn a blind eye to it. On top of that there were other things in play I didn't know about at the time. Nothing ever came of it. Not that I expected it too."

"That's so, wrong."

I shrugged again, chewing. I didn't see any napkins at first until the same waiter brought over a few while I was looking. I nodded my thanks, wiping my mouth not thinking anything of it until I noticed Annette's raised a surprised eyebrow at the unexpectedly prompt service.

I took a drink of my tea to clear my throat before getting back to the story and distracting her from the waiter. "It was what it was. Or as a friend used to say, 'The situation is what it is. Our job is to deal with it. Adapt, improvise, go forward."

"So, you became, what was the term you used, a Hero?" Annette asked still obviously a bit frazzled at my casual dismissal of my school issues.

I winced. The older woman sitting across from me noticed and frowned. "Not, precisely. Sort of… That was my intent anyways. You know that saying, a person finds what they go looking for?"

Annette nodded as I continued. "Well, that Saturday night I went looking for trouble. I found it. A parahuman named 'Lung'."

It was almost funny the way Annette's face scrunched in slight confusion. It was so weird to mention one of the top ten parahumans in shear volatility and get a confused reaction so I clarified.

"Lung was the leader of the 'Azn Bad Boys', or the ABB as most of us called them."

"Sounds like a juvenile gang of some type. Like the type of kids who dabble in being a gang but are mostly harmless."

I couldn't help but snort. Almost sprayed my tea over my lunch at her comment. Now _that_ would have been a fucking tragedy. "They were far from harmless." I stated dryly as I wiped my chin.

"The ABB had three capes that made them one of the most feared gangs in the city. Oni Lee who could teleport while leaving behind an ash clone of himself for a few seconds who would keep trying to kill you while he was safe. His specialty was assassination, with the rep to back it."

"Bakuda, was a tinker who made bombs. Everything from common explosives, acid, time, spacial distortion, anything really. Trust me, when I say anything, I mean that. She made _a lot _of bombs. Came out later just how many but we didn't know much at this point."

"Then, there was Lung. Regenerated at an insane rate which is bad, but not as bad as the fact that the longer the fight took the stronger he got. Grew to monstrous size. Armor plating, claws, wings. That kind of thing. That didn't even include his enhanced senses or his pyrokinetics. I mean real dragon/demon stuff right out of _Divine Comedy_. At that time, no one in the entire world had done more than draw with him. Lung was even the only cape on the planet that had gone to a draw with an _Endbringer_. Practically solo. As if you needed more reason to fear him, he even survived the obliteration of Kyushu which was the result of that fight. Well, our Kyushu. Not even the Triumvirate could boast a claim like that though I read that Edion generally drew with Endbringers, but he is considered to be the strongest cape on the planet."

"Oh my."

I nodded. "It was stupid of me. A rookie mistake that saw more wanna be capes killed their first night out than live. I put on my costume and went trolling in his territory looking for trouble. Didn't take long to find it."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what happened next." Annette muttered.

I couldn't help the smile that graced my face. Bittersweet as most of my memories were of those early days. Was it only a few years ago?

"Renegade happened."

At Annette's even more confused look I explained. "I thought I was ready. I had my costume. Spider silk, which if you didn't know has a tensile density about the same as steal. So I was pretty confident I was bullet proof. That was my first real worry when I thought about going out as cape. Getting shot. Turns out it was valid, but it was a while later before that was tested. I didn't get shot that night."

I took note of Annette's horrified look at how I passed off that occurrence as I continued. "I had a few things on me, but not nearly enough for what I was doing. I wasn't experienced or sponsored so there was a lot I didn't know about being a cape looking for trouble. Still, I was better prepared than most of us newbies who venture out for the first time. But, like them, I was out classed the second I picked that fight. I was barely holding my own when Renegade appeared. I have no doubts he saved my life that night."

"Was he someone you knew? So far you haven't mentioned anyone else with powers in your acquaintance. Aside from your thoughts on this Sebastian boy you mentioned before."

"About that…"


	5. Interlude Renegade

**Divergence Interlude: Renegade**

The computer screen was the only thing that illuminated the pitch black of the room. His face softly illuminated by the monitor's glow showed a slight frown as his fingers awkwardly hammered out the barely heard clicking of the keyboard. On the monitor itself, strange charterers flew across the screen seemingly lagging slightly behind his endeavors.

He was the sole occupant of the small dark room. The figure nodded along to the music that obscured the sound of the generator in the only corner not currently occupied by some piece of hodgepodge technology. What seemed like miles of cables roamed all along the floor and walls interconnecting everything in the room to the makeshift desk the young man was at.

'_But no matter what you do, You'll always feel as though you tripped and fell,_

_So steady as she goes...'_

He leaned back with a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes with one hand. Full circle. Again. He wanted to blame the tech he was using for failing him but he knew that was only a fraction of the issue. He could lie to himself, again, and just say he was tired, or that a solution would eventually show itself but his disillusionment was getting stronger every day. He'd been at this for months only to keep ending up at the same conclusion.

The shrouded figure reached for the cup of steaming coffee that sat next to him. He could only fight the this so much before he just had to accept it. As old Gunnery Sergeant Railberg used to say, _'The situation is what it is. Our job is to deal with it. Adapt, improvise, go forward. That is what we do, Marines!'_

Despite the volume of the music he heard the generator sputter. The slight hesitation in its usual smooth rhythm broke him out of old memories. He held his breath while the network froze; the screen dimmed for a flicker before everything revved back to optimum.

_Shit…_

With sigh he put the cup down rising from the crate he used as his chair. He wound his way through the labyrinth of half dismantled scraps making for the generator. He knew before the gauge confirmed it that it was running low on fuel. A quick check of the gas can next to it reaffirmed the fact he had only a few hours left of power. He'd have to do another job.

"Damn it…" he groused. He _hated_ this. Working with scraps, the discards he managed to salvage and rebuild. Rebuild _poorly_, he amended. He didn't even have a fucking Omni-tool to do the work right! It'd been so long, longer than any in this place could ever imagine, since he had to get by with such materials._ Since Mindoir… _He thought. _No, we had better tech even there..._

He had no friends, no allies, no resources, no sponsors, _nothing _here. The worst part, the part he hated the most, was interacting with the world that existed outside of the confines of his self-imposed isolation. It was some kind of freaked out parody of the Earth he knew. Pre-spaceflight Earth. How the hell did these people expect to get that far going like this?

He very purposely avoided that as much as he could get away with. He still didn't understand what drew him to the brunette from the bus. For months the only people he intentionally interacted with were his few contacts, and the people who were misfortunate to come across him 'working'.

The only thing that felt close to right was that there was something about her that made him think she needed him. But even that felt wrong. He was probably just starving for contact. He'd practically locked himself away since his escape.

He shook his head, casting aside those thoughts. Even as the situation pissed him off, he understood his ex-lover to a whole new level. Her whole life was like this until the day he saved her from Finch's thugs. That didn't mean he had to like it, but he could adapt, like she did. He was good at that. His career was half built on that. _Had_ been...

He returned to the terminal. A quick check on the 'Parahumans Online' site showed no less than fifty offers for 'services'. Everything from entertaining kids with powers at birthday parties to bodyguard assignments. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at offers for 'Stud' services that were also posted. However buried in the data, if one knew where to look and how to read it, you could find more. People looking to be henchmen for the various crime lords and really just about everything from the ignorant to the deadly. It still amazed him that there was even a board for this kind of thing. Lunacy. This world was full of lunatics. The disgusting thing was, they paid better than anything he could acquire through 'legal' channels. Especially if he wanted to keep flying under the radar. It's not like he had identification here. His legal options were minimal, which left only one other way to go.

It wasn't like this was his first foray into the shady elements of society. It was just how _easy_ it was here that surprised him. Seriously, he thought, why would anyone even try to get a day job with all these other options available?

So far he'd only had to venture out a few times. Not wanting to draw too much attention he stuck to the lower rung elements of the city. Scouting them to find out what kinds of illicit elements they involved themselves in, and their stash houses. From there it wasn't too hard to engineer a few break ins to relieve them of some of their ill-gotten gain to have just enough credits, 'cash' he corrected himself, to support himself on a base level, to get tools he needed for rebuilding the scraps of tech he came across, or for tech he could use to further explore his situation. The further he progressed the faster it went.

_No help for it. _With a deep breath and a scowl, he started scrolling through them looking for one he could live with. He was half way through rejecting the offers when a messenger window popped up.

_TT: Good, You're online. We have a situation._

His scowl deepened though he had to admit he was intrigued. He'd worked with her before. She was the lesser of evils when he had to venture out.

_RS: Situation?_  
><em>TT: We need a Heavy.<em>  
><em>RS: I don't do 'Heavy'. I'm a strategist.<em>  
><em>TT: Pay is good. We're in a bind. We only have 3 hours.<em>  
><em>RS: How good?<em>  
><em>TT: 10k.<em>

He blinked. _What the fuck?_ The last job he took from her paid only 2k, and he didn't even participate. He just planned it for them. He either impressed them, or they were desperate. He could work with either, depending on what this was.

_TT: Look, Time is an issue. In or Out?_  
><em>RS: Details.<em>  
><em>TT. We're getting hit. Tonight. Preemptive strike.<em>

His scowl turned into a frown as he typed.

_RS: Bound to happen sooner or later. You are a criminal._  
><em>TT: Semantics. We're little fish. The guy hitting us isn't. <em>  
><em>RS: Run then.<em>  
><em>TT: Can't. If we don't fight, our Rep takes a hit.<em>  
><em>TT: We run now, we'll always have to run. You don't get respect like that.<em>  
><em>RS: Counting Coup.<em>  
><em>TT: Yeah.<em>  
><em>RS: What do you need?<em>  
><em>TT: Someone who can bring the hurt.<em>  
><em>RS: What makes you think I can?<em>  
><em>TT: Are you saying you can't?<em>  
><em>TT: I seem to remember a little incident about 3 weeks ago in which the <em>  
><em>TT: Shakers got wiped out. To a man with no clue to who except for a <em>  
><em>TT: post offering the contract on this site.<em>

He sighed. Figures she would trace that back to him. One of his raids that ended up going sideways. They were supposed to be gone when he hit them. For some reason the entire gang ended up walking in on him in the middle of his raid. It didn't end well for them.

Course, that didn't stop him from collecting the bounty _afterward_. Waste not, want not. Wasn't the first time he stumbled into a situation like that.

_RS: Touche._  
><em>TT: We're not that hardcore, we just want to walk away from this with our rep<em>  
><em>TT: and lives intact. <em>

_Hmmm. _

RS: _Target._  
><em>TT: The ABB. Lung in particular.<em>  
><em>RS: Location.<em>  
><em>TT: Docks. <em>

He brought up a digital display of the area to get an idea of what he would be working with. Lots of two story buildings in the area with only one or two higher than that. Lots of cover and even more blind spots. Mobility would be a major issue. Well, one of the major issues. The location was less than ideal for an effective counter strike. For him anyways. The Undersiders were far more suited than he was to this type of terrain. He was far from 100%. More like 40%. Still, there were options.

RS: _ABB are criminals correct?_  
><em>TT: Yup.<em>  
><em>TT: We'd prefer it if you were subtle. Just thought I would throw that out there.<em>  
><em>RS: Not sure how to be subtle while 'bringing the hurt'. It's going to draw attention. <em>  
><em>RS: Attention is not something I'm interested in.<em>  
><em>TT: We'll figure a way to deflect it.<em>  
><em>RS: Will still draw attention.<em>  
><em>TT: For us, that's sort of the point. Though we'd be happier if there wasn't a body <em>  
><em>TT: count.<em>  
><em>TT: That kind of attention we don't want or need.<em>  
><em>TT: Tends to get you a one way ticket to the Birdcage, or a Kill Order.<em>  
><em>RS: This about the 'Code' you people play by?<em>  
><em>TT: Pretty much. Though we're in a pinch here.<em>  
><em>RS: Obviously. Or you wouldn't have contacted me.<em>  
><em>TT: Yeah.<em>

He did a quick search on the ABB. He continued to nod along to the music as he absorbed the points on the screen. A list of crimes, suspected involvements, past successes and losses. Enemies, allies, and of course the references to the 'Parahumans' who were members or suspected to be. He started scrolling through their profiles to get a feel for their abilities while he adjusted his tactics based on the information.

The leadership consisted of three 'Parahumans', as these people called them. Oni-Lee, teleporter. The ABB problem solver. Bakuda, Combat Engineer with a specialty in explosives. As he looked through crimes attributed to her he felt his eyebrows rise. Really weird explosives. Then the leader and the target of the night; Lung. As he read through his reported abilities his frown seemed to etch into his face mingling with new confusion.

_What the shit?_

_TT: Hey, still there?_  
><em>RS: I think I'll pass on this one. <em>  
><em>TT: Hey, come on now. There's room to negotiate here right? <em>

He leaned back opening a message he received a few days ago in response to an inquiry he made to someone called 'Leet' that operated in the city. He watched a few of their vids and though he was pretty sure Leet and his partner 'Uber' were both brain damaged idiots, Leet's ability to create things from nothing was his best shot. Even if he couldn't understand how the hell he was doing it.

_-Renegade. Yes, I can provide that particular 'tech'. I talked to Uber and even though we don't do this kind of thing, you got me curious. What kind of trade did you have in mind?-_

He turned back to the text box. A plan already forming in his mind.

_RS: Best thing for you and your squad to do is run. Pick your battles._  
><em>TT: Not exactly the help I was hoping for.<em>  
><em>RS: No, but if you survive and need a strategist, you know how to contact me.<em>

He cut the connection before standing. The soft glow of the terminal illuminated the conflicted expression on his face. He spent a few moments standing there filling in the details of the half formed plan looking for weak points and flaws, shoring them up.

On one hand, he'd done this sort of thing before and it really wasn't that big a deal. On the other, it earmarked the beginning of what he was sure was going to be a dark road. A previously traveled dark road. A road he told himself he wasn't going to walk again.

The payoff would be good though.

"Fuck."

Committing to madness, the figure moved with a purpose as he went about the small room gathering what he would need for the night. Knife, extra ammunition, a saddle bag that consisted of all his notable field possessions aside from the music player currently hooked to the terminal. That and the disposable comm next to it, he put in his jacket pocket. When finished, he checked the pistol in his hands before holstering it at his side. He had two stops to make before he set up. So little time prepare.

His sure steeps carried him out the archway and down the hall he finished sealing up only a week ago. A few moments later he opened the hatch to the rusted ship he was squatting in. The salt of the bay hit him full force as he untied the mooring rope to the small boat that was his only conveyance to shore.

He ran through various actions, counter actions, and contingency plans as he automatically set himself into the small craft, started the quiet motor and eased himself around the wreck and directing his course to a dark spot on shore to beach the boat.

With the ABB distracted by chasing down the Undersiders he had an open field to hit one of their storehouses. This opportunity was pure gold. When it came to drugs, the ABB were fairly professional about it, unlike the Merchants. Professional meant pure product, high end stuff. The ABB didn't push to kids, but distributed to professional dealers all along the eastern seaboard. A higher class clientele meant more money. He smirked in the pitch night he drove through. It wasn't like they could use a regular bank, so that meant they had to keep their money somewhere. He didn't see a reason they needed to keep it all to themselves.

The engine cut out as he felt the bow hit the sand in front of him, bringing him out of his thoughts. A quick jump had him securing the motor up and out of the waterline and dragging the craft into a large water drainage tunnel twenty feet ahead of him. Once hidden he set off on foot to his next destination.

He didn't pause in his stride until he was a block down the road where he stopped to light a cigarette. He blew out a cloud of smoke as he reached into his pocket releasing the zippo. He unwound the ear bud from his player before putting it into his ear.

_'Somewhere in a lonely hotel room, There's a guy starting to realize,_

_That eternal fate has turned its back on him,_

_It's two a.m...'_

He had just two hours to get everything in place. He wasn't getting anywhere doing things the way he had been. It was long past time for him to step up his operation. If he was going to be stuck here, he might as well do something constructive until he figured out a way to get home. If that was even possible. Which, judging by his research so far, wasn't even a consideration. Besides, he knew from experience how profitable it was to hit criminals. Satisfying too.

_Help I'm steppin' into the twilight zone,_

_The place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned._

_My beacon's been moved under moon and star,_

_Where am I to go, now that I've gone too far_

_Where indeed… _He thought to himself as he strode forward again. His last memory of 'home' still burned in his mind. Vague human figures in masks. A room that looked like some kind of hospital/interrogation room. Memories were disjointed, confused, hazy. From the time he woke up in that room through the next two weeks he found himself 'here'. He still couldn't figure out how they got him, or who they were though he had a good guess. What he did know was that it must have been after the Crucible fired. That was his last memory before everything went confused and reality unraveled to… whatever the hell this was.

If nothing else, even if he couldn't get back, his actions would have saved everyone who mattered to him. Would have saved those who survived anyways. Not that there were many. _Tali…_

He took a cleansing breath letting it out slowly. _Maybe it's better this way… A new start. _Even if he managed to get home, there wasn't anything waiting for him anymore. Harbinger saw to that.

Maybe. Maybe not. Didn't matter. Not back then, not now. Right or wrong, for the moment he was committed.

"This should be interesting." He stated to himself as he flicked the ash from his cigarette to the side. Once more striding into the night. There was a mission to complete.

_XxX__Exiled__XxX_

The door flew off the hinges flying inward with ease. Not something he was used to but then again, this wasn't a prefab he was kicking in. Renegade snorted at that notion. You _couldn't_ kick in a prefab. Thing was, he couldn't hack these locks for the exact opposite reason. Here, you couldn't hack the lock. Even if he had an Omni-tool. Or Omni-gel.

He ignored the painful sounds of whoever it caught. Instead he turned to the two mobile threats in front of him. That other guy wasn't going anywhere soon.

"What the…"

"Fuck!"

Two pops from the salvaged sidearm stopped either of them from talking anymore. The bodies of both young men slid down the walls leaving blood trails and brain matter to mark their passage. He kept his arms raised and the pistol level as he assessed the situation. There should be one more… It was almost a full minute before he moved.

"Drop the gun fucker!"

The forth stepped out of one of the side rooms. Probably the Head. The asian teen was holding what looked like a combat model shotgun that was typical for this era. It slightly trembled in his hands. Obviously, the tough wasn't comfortable with it. That, or he was just rattled.

Both were likely. Like most wanna be badass's, he wasn't used to being on the other side of this equation.

Renegade did as ordered. He allowed the gun to fall from his fingers. The sound of the weapon hitting the carpet didn't even register to the man holding him at gunpoint. Renegade kept his palms open; facing his opponent as he slowly extended them to shoulder width. However, whatever victory his assailant thought he had was gone before he even realized it. Renegade clenched his right hand in a grabbing motion, and then jerked his arm back. The effect was instantaneous as the series of mass effect fields only he could see aligned precisely how he mentally directed them. The target flew past him impacting the wall with a sickening crunch that said a lot about his injuries.

He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon either.

As his hand opened the discarded firearm jumped back into his grip. A quick pull of the trigger ended any question if his downed opponent was getting up. A moment later he finished the one that fell to the door as well, leaving him the sole occupant of the room.

He nodded satisfied. He got all four with minimal fuss. Considering the old tech he was using, he thought even his old Gunny from the Villa would have been impressed.

Then again, maybe not. It wasn't like these guys were professional mercs. More like amateur thugs. Still, a clean op, was a clean op. He'd take what he could get.

Renegade took one more look about the room while reaching to the back of his neck with his left hand. The old habit to physically check the heat from his amp met only skin causing him to frown. No implant, meant no amp. He shook off the chill that sped down his spine. He couldn't afford the distraction right now. He had a mission to complete.

This was one of the smaller stash houses the ABB used. Table, a few chairs, fridge. Not much else aside from personal stuff the guards brought with them. A quick tour of the room allowed him to find the safe he was confident was here. Renegade concentrated for a moment aligning the right degenerative fields along the hinges before turning away. The hinges slowly started to change from a pristine look to a distempered one.

While he waited for the Warping to do its work he toured the apartment again. Small electronics, small arms, ammunition all ended up in the duffle he brought with him. As a bonus he found a well-stocked first aid station. Renegade figured this place must double as one of their field hospitals. Considering what they were up to tonight, his timeline for getting out was narrowing. He quickly added most of their supplies to the others in his duffle. On the bodies of the fallen he took their jewelry and currency. If he ever got an omni-tool working he would need all the light metals he could get his hands on to build a better one, so nothing was over looked. Besides, they wouldn't need them anymore.

Finished with his salvage he returned to the safe. A quick application of opposing gravimetric forces allowed him to tear the door off in a similar manner that he threw the gang member earlier.

Inside was exactly what he hoped to find. Stacks of local currency. He smiled grimly as he went about loading the duffel with its contents. He just stuffed it all into the bag not bothering to count it. Plenty of time for that later.

A quick heft after he was done, secured the bag to his back well enough for him to walk out easily. As he headed to the door he used his biotics to bring the shotgun from where it had fallen to his hand. Primitive weapons tech, but he could make it work.

As he was making his way to the street he wondered if Javik felt like this when he recruited him. After a moment of musing about the Prothean Renegade shook his head. Probably not. There weren't any of his people left when he brought him out of stasis. Not only was he surrounded by what he considered 'Primitive Tech' but also evolved 'Primitives' of galactic species that barely understood the concept of fire. How much worse would it have been for the war veteran had it been his own people he found running around like that?

He snorted as he rounded the last of the stairs heading for the exit. Who was he kidding? Javik would have taken over the planet before uplifting his people. Probably then set his sights on taking over the galaxy. Little things like the sanctity of the timeline wouldn't have concerned him in the least.

It wasn't until he hit the street that he realized his night wasn't over yet. A feminine scream of pain assaulted the still night drawing his attention to the left. It was soon followed by the image of a monstrous armor plated, thing, leaping from the street onto the roof of the buildings he was fairly sure the scream came from. Renegade blinked. A two story building.

_Lung._

Renegade frowned to himself as he contemplated his options. While he stood in the street assessing the situation the hulking figure roared sending what looked like a shock wave of flames around him.

His decision was made before he even realized he was moving forward. The duffel thrown to the side of the ally as he breathed deeply building up his power for the Charge. He kept the shotgun.

In his years serving the Alliance, and later the Citadel Council, he earned a reputation for brutal, reckless efficiency. Many thought him cold, ruthless, a monster. Possibly unhinged, or mentally unstable. He was all of those things and more. Hell the body count he left behind wherever he went was tell enough for that.

He wasn't kidding when he told the brunette on the bus he understood carrying a great weight. It was just before they headed to Earth with Hammer and Sword Fleets that his depression was at its worst. Tali confronted him with the hard data on his career. Yeah, he had an astronomical body count to his name. Mindoir, The Blitz, Torfan, The Eden Prime War were all prime examples of this. Then later all the choices he made in those last eight months before they got the Crucible built and finally took the fight to the Reapers. Choices that allowed some to live, and many to die. How many died because of his actions or inaction? Millions for sure. More likely Trillions. What was it Garrus called it, the Brutal Calculus of War?

But at the same time he tried to save as many as he could. Saved the _right_ kind of people to balance putting down the _right_ kind of people. Went out of his way sometimes to try and make a difference, even the scorecard. Tali showed him that night that being a monster didn't make him evil. Sometimes, the galaxy needed a monster. Sometimes, it took a monster to fight one.

He'd already understood that ideal, but having her support made the difference. Showed him he wasn't as alone as he felt.

Renegade felt his power reaching critical within him as he exited the ally. Dark energy manifested whipping violently around him waiting to be used. Needing to be unleashed. It was a fair distance for this particular aspect of his abilities but even without an amp, well within his range. Renegade seemed to vanish in a streak of auze light.

_I wonder if Tattletale will still pay the bounty..._


	6. Divergence 3

**Divergence 1.3**

This was it, I was going to die.

On the few occasions when I thought about my own death, I never really thought it would be like this. Not this soon.

_Lung._ Of all people to run into my first night out, I ran into Lung.

I wasn't stupid. I'd read about him on PHO so I had a good grasp of his abilities. This was why I set myself so far away from him. The fire escape for the building I chose was down and thanks to my bugs I knew that I could get access to the roof. Plenty of distance from the rage monster while also being able to manage the insect horde I'd gathered. I figured since it took a while for his power to really kick in, I'd have a bit of time to knock him out.

My venomous insects would be best for him while the others would be fine for his flunkies. I mean, brown moths, black widows, and brown recluse were some of the nastiest insect's local to here. The way I used them would have killed anyone else in moments. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that they would negate his regeneration. And it worked. The flunkies scattered leaving only Lung for me to worry about and for a moment, it looked like it was going to work. Then, he started exploding.

Well, there went that plan.

I turned to the fire escape judging the distance. In doing so my foot very lightly scraped across the roof. Lung turned upward looking right at me as if he knew I was there. Of course he had enhanced senses. Why wouldn't he?

My insects swarmed him getting in bites and stings were they could before his body fully armor plated. Still, it was a losing battle. Whatever the toxins from the spiders, bees, moths, and wasps were doing to him wasn't happening fast enough. How good was his regeneration anyways? I knew from his bio that he regenerated fast, but seriously? _This _fast? Against bees and wasps I could believe, but…

_Fuck me!_

I jumped backward trying to make it to the fire escape just as Lung landed on the roof. I only managed a few steps when the force of his landing shook the old building and sent me tumbling across the tar. His follow up back hand as I regained my feet ended that option as well as getting a painful scream from me as I once again tumbled over the rough terrain. I didn't get back up this time. Instead I back peddled, sliding on my butt away from him panicked. Thank God, I thought, for my costume. I'd probably be dead already if not for that. This was going all kinds of wrong.

As I tried to retreat, Lung roared sending out another burst of flames around him killing my swarm. My costume thankfully kept the worst of it from hurting me but it still hurt. That was even the last of the useful bugs within my range. With his armor, there was nothing more I could do to hurt him. He swayed a bit but was still far too steady on his feet for my tastes. Whatever I did to him wasn't going to happen before he finished me.

I looked back and forth trying to find a way off this building that wouldn't get me killed just as quickly as staying here would. Roof tops were the absolutely worst place to fight unless you had some kind of flight or speeder ability. As I ran through my limited options, I thought that if I survived this, I was going to take extra care not to let myself be trapped on a roof ever again. Even if I jumped and survived the fall, I'd break a leg. I wouldn't get anywhere like that. Much less have any way to explain it later if I did.

"I 'ear you. I sm'll you…" the half monster Lung growled as he advanced. Blocking me from the fire escape again.

Pyrokinetics, enhanced senses, regeneration, and monstrous strength and natural armor. Why the fuck wasn't he an A-lister again? Why did I pick this fight?

_The kids._

As I dry swallowed thinking, what I was sure were my last thoughts, I couldn't help but think I'd do it again. I heard him plotting with his gang to kill kids, of all things. What's the price of my life for the chance to help kids? Whatever his plan was, I managed to derail it for tonight at least. I'd done what I set out to do.

Would have been nice to of lived afterward though.

As Lung advanced toward me I once again thought, this was it. I was going to die.

Suddenly a streak of bluish light exploded into Lung. A vague man shaped figured stood in the center of the fading remnants as Lung stumbled several steps away from the impact.

"You're big." The figure stated. I blinked behind the yellow tinted swim goggles I'd sown into my mask. It sounded like he was talking about the weather.

Lung had regained his steps and roared at the stranger. For all the good it did, he didn't seem rattled. Instead, he _chuckled_. "That's alright. I've fought bigger."

Lung charged swinging. The figure moved faster than I'd seen anyone move. It wasn't super-fast like the speeders I read about, but still fast. He effortlessly avoided Lung with a skill that suggested he fought monsters before. Maybe even for a living.

The distortion around him mixed with the poor lighting of the area meant I had a hard time following him as he slid to the side to avoid getting hit. And he was sliding. Like some kind of force pushed him one way or the other but never in a way he couldn't keep his footing. Then the stranger kicked or punched in retaliation. His power blazed over his hands and feet. The sounds of the impacts sounded like shattering concert. Somewhere in that scuffle something happened to distort and warp Lungs armored plates. I couldn't really tell if it was just remains of that guy's power where he hit, or if he did something else but Lung's armor wasn't as uniform or as hard looking as they were before.

As I watched in amazement I wondered if what I did to Lung, and the distortion, were part of the reason why his attacks seemed sloppy in comparison to the newcomers' movements. Maybe he was finally slowing down from the venom's? Was that why his armor looked weaker?

Wait, was the new guy _laughing_?

It sure sounded like it to me. Lung must have thought so too because he began to get more erratic in his attacks. Lung continued to get more frustrated with his inability to hit his target accumulating in a change of tactics.

A burst of flames roared forward from the monstrous figure. It was hot enough that from where I was sitting _I_ felt it through my costume. It rolled along the roof melting tar and setting those sections of the roof on fire, almost igniting the building next to us. It lasted several seconds before all the flames disappeared.

That guy was still there. A shimmering bubble looking field of purplish distortion around him. Whatever it was protecting him didn't distort the light around him as much as what he was doing before so I got my first close look at him.

He was tall. Taller than me anyways, but not nearly as tall as Lung had grown too. I still couldn't get a look at his face, but I saw enough to know he wasn't wearing a mask. Or a costume. Was this his first night out too? Did our fight make him get powers?

Holy fuck, was that a shotgun in his hand?

"This is fun, but I got better things to do than spar with you. How about we kick this up a notch? Unless you're ready to retreat? That'd be fine too."

Lung roared definitely throwing another torrent of flames. The stranger avoided it by sliding sideways before rushing forward bringing the weapon to his shoulder. A flash of light and a unique sound spat out round after round.

Yeah, that was a shotgun.

Lung jerked to the left. Blood and bits of flesh exploding from his shoulder. It looked like whatever happened to the armor he grew in must have weakened it enough to be vulnerable to the blasts. In quick succession he was hit in the right knee, then right in the face knocking him onto his back. Each shot appeared placed with an ease and precision I'd never even heard of before.

Who the fuck was this guy that he was _surgical_ with a _shotgun_?

It didn't end there. I sat stunned watching the new guy work. "Know what happens when you're enveloped in an unstable dark energy, molecular degenerative field and get hit with an opposing field rated at twenty-four hundred newtons of force?"

Lung lay on his back half against the railing. He shook his bloody head before thrusting his arm at his assailant. The new guy once again slid to the side in a burst of violent light distorting blue avoiding another blast of flame. He thrust his own hand outward as he came to a stop. Lung exploded.

"Same thing as everything else." He deadpanned.

_He even had one liners..._

I watched the smoking remains of Lung as it was flung from the explosion into the building across from us. He, thankfully, didn't get up. I think I would have pissed myself if he did. I slowly turned to the guy that saved my life in such a one sided fashion.

He brought up the weapon he had managed to keep in his hands the whole fight. He pulled back the sliding part under the gun looking down at the barrel.

"Empty. Really? He tried to hold me up with three rounds? That's almost insulting." I heard him mutter to himself.

He tossed the weapon to the side pulling the pistol I finally noticed at his hip. That got a reaction out of me as I realized what he intended to do.

"Hey, no…"

He casually turned to me giving me the impression he was fully aware that I was there the entire time. I still couldn't see his face clearly but something about him was familiar. He didn't say anything as I shakingly got to my feet and approached him.

"You're, you're not going to kill him are you?"

"That was the idea, yeah."

"No, you can't do that!"

"I can't do that." He repeated my words as if tasting them for context. "Okay. I'm pretty sure I can, but I'd like to hear why I shouldn't."

His reply made me sputter a moment before I regrouped my senses enough say anything. "Because it's not _right_. We should, I don't know, leave him for the PRT to pick up or find a payphone and call them so they know he's here. They'll put him in jail and get him off the street. Maybe even some medical care for the venom I injected him with and the things you did."

The guy in front of me turned to where Lung lay unconscious for a moment before turning back to me. "I'm pretty sure he's going to bleed out before any 'medical care' arrives. Much less your PRT. A Krogen would."

A _what_? "He's tough and regenerates. He should be fine until the Heroes can get him locked up."

"Can he regenerate a broken spine?" He asked. It made me think this wasn't as random an encounter as it looked like. "I'm pretty sure I managed that right at the end. I'd be surprised if he didn't with his landing." He gestured to the broken building in front of us emphasizing his point. "That's no way to leave a man to suffer. Better I just end him fast then he live the rest of his life like that."

"I don't know." I stated uncertainty. Nothing I could recall on his abilities mentioned anything about that kind of ability. Of course, that was possibly because no one had ever managed to inflict this kind of damage to him. I didn't get a lot of time to think before the stranger started speaking again.

"You know, either way it'd be better if I kill him. He's either going to end up in a wheelchair, or if he _can_ regenerate his spine, he's going to be fucking _pissed_. That means he's going to want revenge, which translates to another fight down the road. Assuming he doesn't stay in 'jail', the next time, he'll have back up. I don't know what you did to him but I'm pretty sure it's the reason this fight went a lot easier than I expected after reading his extranet bio. That surprise won't be on our side next time."

I froze. All thought in my mind screeched to a halt as I slowly turned to the figure before me.

"It's the right thing to do." I whispered, still processing.

The distortion was fading pretty quickly now and I knew I was right. Same haircut and build. Same confidence in his stance. My savior was _Sebastian_.

Unaware of my revelation he shrugged one shoulder in response. "Alright." He turned to me again giving me a once over. I looked into his eyes seeing the green I easily recognized through what was left of his powers. "You alright? Broken anything?"

I shook my head. I was far from alright. I took a few breaths to steady my nerves before answering. "S, swimming in adrenaline but I don't think anything's broken. Bruised and sore but not broken."

"Good. I'm gunna grab my duffel. If you want, I'll walk you to where the Docks meet the Boardwalk before we part ways. Just in case any of his people decide to try something."

The casual way he said that left me reeling more than knowing who he was. It was the same tone he used on the bus, the same as this morning. Like the whole fight didn't mean anything or it didn't happen. "Okay..."

Sebastian nodded before stepping off the roof. I stifled a scream as I rushed over expecting to see his remains spattered on the sidewalk below. Instead as I leaned over the edge I watched stunned as he descend a lot slower than was natural. I let out a shaky breath once he landed safely and started walking away. Thankfully from both the building and Lung.

The battle ran through my mind. I tried to fuse both aspects of the person I was watching together, trying to make sense of it all, and failed. "Who the hell are you, Sebastian?"


	7. Divergence 4

**Divergence 1.4**

Once I managed to get myself together enough to descend the fire escape I found Sebastian waiting for me in the alley I saw him enter. His duffel bag already over his left shoulder as he waited for me.

As I approached him I fully recognize him and any doubts I had vanished. I didn't say anything but fell in step with him as we walked side by side through the area unmolested in an uncomfortable silence. Our first.

It all passed in a blur to me. One moment I entered the alley and the next we were almost to the Boardwalk. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if Sebastian didn't say anything.

"There you go."

"What?" I asked, startled from my thoughts.

"Public Comm Terminal."

I looked to where he was pointing seeing the pay phone standing there. So lost in thoughts I completely forgot about Lung. It looked to be in working order, even if it had been defaced by ABB graffiti and the phone book had been stolen. Finally remembering why I needed a phone in the first place, I rushed over to it. A quick check reminded me that I hadn't sown any pockets in my costume. I reached behind me into the small carapace pack I made. I wouldn't find change there either.

Then I remembered why I didn't call the PRT about Lung in the first place.

"Do you have any change?" I asked turning to Sebastian.

"You have to pay to use the comms?"

I felt my eye twitch. Granted I'd forgotten, and I felt really guilty about that, but was I the only one who cared Lung was possibly dieing? "Yes. Quarters? Nickels? Anything?"

He didn't even check his pockets before he shook his head. "Nope. Does it take twenties?"

"It's a _Payphone_." I stated.

"So, is that a yes? I haven't counted it but I remember there were a lot of twenties."

As he was speaking the teen dropped the duffel and open it. "You robbed someone." It wasn't even a question to me at this point.

"ABB storehouse actually." He answered matter of factly. "I had intel that Lung was going after the Undersiders. Figured most of his people would be involved in the attack which would leave it mostly unguarded. I just finished when I saw Lung jump up to the building you were on."

"Are you seriously telling me that thing is full of money?"

He knelt down finally getting it open enough to reach into it. "Not all of it. Got a few pistols in here too. Some jewelry, couple of wallets. A lap terminal. I didn't do a full salvage of their place. I was just there for the safe. Grabbed the other stuff while the hinges were degrading."

"Are you serious?"

I realized he was when he held up a wad of bills. From the open bag in front of him I could see the laptop as well as the sparkle of someone's gold ring glinting in the lamplight. In his hand I could clearly see the twenties. As well as more than a few hundreds.

_Holy fuck._

"It doesn't take cash…" I said in a pained voice. "I don't suppose you took their phones?" I asked hopefully trying to ignore the fact he robbed Lung before he kicked the crap out of him. Something about that just didn't seem right.

"Didn't see any portable comms, other than the terminal."

Oh hell, _now_ how was I going to call this in? Granted I didn't like Lung but I didn't want him to _die_. I looked down the alley. We weren't far from the Boardwalk, maybe only about four or five blocks. Even with it being this late there had to be someone there who would let me use a phone.

The sound of shearing metal broke me from those thoughts. I spun around to see Sebastian standing next to the phone looking downward at the change tray in his slightly distorted hand. "Ahem. How many of these do you need?" He asked me was he jiggling the tray, bouncing the change inside. "There's a lot in here."

I wanted to scream at him, '_Will you stop breaking the law!' _but didn't. In the end I just stared at him for a moment before walking up to him and picking up two quarter's out of the tray.

I muttered thanks, picked up the receiver, then put in the quarters before dialing the number I memorized just for this eventuality. I did my absolute best to ignore the quarters bouncing out of the hole in the phone box. I refused to acknowledge the sounds of them rolling away.

"PRT Emergency Response. What is your emergency?" the operator stated with professional boredom.

My eyes darted to Sebastian and the change tray in his hand. The irony of this situation was not lost on me. I took steadying breath. "Parahuman fight. Docks, just past the corner of Jostlen and California. Lung was unconscious and on site. He's pretty beaten up and should be treated for toxicity. Specifically, insect venom's and stings. He was shot several times with a shotgun and may also have a broken spine. At last sight, no other ABB members in evidence, but that may have changed by now."

I somehow managed to say all that without even a hitch in my voice. I would have been proud if the situation was anything but what it was.

For a moment it was silent on the line. "Are you serious? Because, crank calls to an emergency number…"

"Yes I'm serious. Are you going to do something or leave him there to bleed to death?" I stated resisting the urge to shout.

I heard a flurry of typing in the background. "Your name?"

I hung up turning to Sebastian just in time to see him dump the change into his duffel.

My eye twitched again.

Sebastian was already securing his bag and hefting it to his shoulder by the time I turned away heading to the Boardwalk. Like the quarters, I tried to ignore the discarded change tray in the street.

_The least he could have done was put it back..._

I sighed not even bothering to bring it up. There was just too much to process as it was. It was only about four blocks away now. We didn't make half that distance before he spoke. Once again breaking me from my thoughts.

"What did I do wrong?"

I snapped my head to look at him. "What?"

"I did something that upset you. What was it?" He asked.

I blinked, stunned for a different reason. Sebastian actually looked confused. His confident air was gone replaced by uncertainty. I hadn't replied after several long moments, still trying to wrap my head around him. "What?"

I stopped walking when he did. "Your body language screams I did something wrong and you're upset." His eyes darted uncomfortably to my hands. It was then I realized I was wringing them as we walked. "If you told me what it was, I'd explain. If I am in the wrong, I'll own it. Be the least I could do, this is your city, after all."

_What the hell? _"What makes you think it's about you? You can't see my face or read my thoughts." A panicked thought hit me as I said that. "Can you?" Somehow, I don't think I would have been surprised. He seemed to do everything else.

He shook his head. "No, but do you know how hard it is to read a Quarian? Turian's are hard as hell to read, but at least you get to see their faces enough to get a feel for their body language. Quarians though? You have to know what to look for, and let me tell you something, outside of really obscure Asari databanks, or Fornax, and that's not really reliable, there was precious little to research when I went looking. Compared to that, reading humans in costumes isn't that hard." He gestured to my hands which were still together. "Besides, Tali used to do that when I'd done something she didn't like, or if she had to talk to me about something uncomfortable. I'll grant you I don't know you that well having only met you a few days ago, but I know I did something."

"You recognize me?" I asked horrified.

"Tay…"

I jumped forward putting both hands on his chest. My actions had the desired effect as he immediately quieted. I reached out with my power taking control of every single insect in my reach. I should have been doing that the entire time. I wanted to kick myself for being so distracted but could anyone blame me? As I silently looked him in the eye I immediately began moving them around the full extent of my range looking to see if anyone was around. Sebastian stood silent while I hunted and remained so until I confirmed that there was no one closer than a full city block.

"Don't do that!" I hissed.

I could see in his eyes he was getting slightly frustrated. "Do _what_?"

"Say my real name! You don't do that to someone in costume! How can you not know this stuff but you seem to know all the other stuff you do?"

Sebastian stood silently as I realized how stupid this was. Here I was, holding him to the wall as if he couldn't just break me in half by batting his eyelash.

I swallowed. _Like he broke Lung..._

When he did speak his words seemed calmly measured. "Alright. Then what am I supposed to call you?"

That through me. I released him backing a step away keeping some of my attention on my bugs to make sure we didn't get overheard. "I...I don't know. I haven't picked out a name yet."

At the pained expression on his face I couldn't help but firing at him in my frustration. "Do you know how hard it is to come up with a bug themed name that doesn't make me sound like a joke or a Villain? What about you?"

"Me?"

"You're a cape." I stated as if that explained everything.

"No, I'm a Biotic."

"You have powers." I stated resisting the urge to grind my teeth. "That means you're a cape. No matter what your powers do or what you call them."

Sebastian shook his head. "Maybe if I was born here I'd agree with you. But I'm not from around here."

"Come again?"

I lost the ability to resist clenching my teeth when his eyes lit in humor complete with him visibly biting his lip. As I realized what I said, and how juvenal he was acting about it, I still had to admire his restraint. If I thought for even an instant that I'd survive, I would have smacked him.

"Explain. Who are you?"

"That's a long story."

"Short Version."

"Would still take a long time to explain."

I couldn't help it and growled. "The_ really_ short version."

He tilted his head slightly as he looked me in the eyes. I watched as the playfulness dwindled. I suddenly felt bad for pushing this, it looked almost painful. After a moment he pulled himself together straightening into a very stiff, very formal posture.

"Alright. My name _is_ Sebastian Shepard. Formally, Commander Sebastian Shepherd of the Systems Alliance. I was born a natural latent Biotic on the planet Mindoir of the Mindoir System in 2154; Earth Standard. Judging by extranet research I've been able to access I believe I am from an alternate reality, though it is extremely unlikely to be parallel to your own. For some reason I have yet to determine, I have been exiled here for the last six months."

Whatever I had been expecting, that was not it.

"Oh. Well. Shit."


	8. Southside 1

**Southside 2.1**

The bus hit a pothole causing me to grab the seat in front to keep my balance. There were only a few other passengers. Everyone had that worn look I learned to associate with out of work and looking. It wasn't as out of place as out of towners' would have thought. Dad knew that better than anyone.

I sighed. Just thinking of him reminded me of our problems. Or, more precisely, my problem with him. Apparently, he heard me sneaking back in the other day. I was so out of it from everything that happened I didn't even bother making sure my entrance was quiet. Besides, Dad usually slept like a log. The house could have exploded and he'd sleep through it. So it was just my luck that he knew I snuck out and was waiting. I was going to have to do something about that. I wasn't going to be able to do anything cape wise like this.

Especially when I'm grounded.

The bus jostled again as it slowly started moving through the green stoplight. Well not really grounded, but this was as close as I've ever been to being 'grounded' before. Restricted was more like what the last few days have been like. I couldn't go for my runs in the mornings before school and he was waiting when I got back. All so we could 'talk' if I felt like it. At least he didn't try forcing me to talk so I could at least hide in my room, but I really missed my runs.

After Dad confronted me about being out late at night and my flimsy excuse of not being able to sleep, he asked the one question I really wish he wouldn't have. Was I with Sebastian?

I hated lying to my Dad. After Mom died it was just the two of us. Just the two of us trying to hold everything together. I wouldn't go as far as to call us the poster family for dysfunction, but I'll admit, we had issues. Lying to each other though was never one of them. So, despite the complications I knew it would cause, I told him that yeah, I did see him that night.

I just didn't tell him what we were doing or how I stumbled across him. Not that he didn't draw his own conclusions. His own _wrong _conclusions, but it wasn't like I could fight it much without revealing what I was really doing.

Still…

I grabbed my school bag and got off the bus. Today wasn't too bad I guess. Glue on my seat, a few other things. Might have done something to my locker again but I didn't use it today. Didn't most days really. No matter how many times I changed my padlocks, or even what kind I used, they always managed to get inside it. Just didn't make sense to keep using the thing if whatever I put in it just got messed up. Now and then I typically just put stuff in there to give them something to destroy or take. That way they wouldn't go looking for something more inventive to do. Worked so far.

It didn't take me long to get to the house from my stop to notice, surprise, my dad's car parked out front. Like it had been for the last three days I'd come home from school. This was getting old, and it was only Wednesday. I sighed again mentally preparing myself for another awkward night at home. Like I needed any other reason to hate Wednesday.

I opened the back door seeing my dad sitting at the kitchen table. Practically the same spot, same pose as this morning. It was like he never moved.

"Hey kiddo. How was school?" He asked me with a pained smile.

"S'okay." I muttered truthfully as I passed by heading to the living room. I knew dad suspected what was going on but he never confronted me on it. Nor did I volunteer anything. Would have done any good anyways. Didn't after… well, last time. Hopefully this 'soft' approach didn't mean they were winding themselves up. Planning something. Like a calm before the storm. If they were, I didn't have a clue what they could do that would top January's show stopper. Nor did I particularly think much about it. I'd just have to be more careful not to get caught by them alone.

I put all that out of my mind, taking a seat on the couch. I pulled out my books preparing to do my homework. It wasn't like I'd be doing anything else for the next few hours.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched dad get up bringing the chair he was using into the living room as he had the last few days. He took a seat facing me picking up his book from the coffee table. All so I would know he was right there if I wanted to talk about things.

It wasn't quite like what I imagined being in jail would be like, but I still kinda felt like a prisoner in my own home. I ground my teeth and started doing my homework.

I was halfway through my algebra when he spoke. "This isn't working…" I looked up but didn't speak.

His lanky frame looked weighed down in the chair. Tired. I fought the reflex to wince hating that I was causing it. I watched as he took a moment to adjust his glasses he closed his book, looking directly at me. "I don't like it when you're unhappy Taylor."

I blinked but didn't say anything. He knew enough to know it'd been a long time since I was 'happy'.

"I know things at school are not ideal. I'm just worried that you'll… with everything you're dealing with that you'll… do something that you might regret later."

I groaned covering my face with my hands. This again. "Dad, it's not like that…"

"Taylor. What else am I supposed to think when you sneak back into the house at three in the morning? Especially after you meet a boy to watch the sunrise."

I looked up opening my mouth to respond when he held up his hand. I let him talk. "I love you Taylor."

_Oh, crap. _I sighed. His eyes were confused, slightly hurt, but earnest. Like a puppy that got scolded for something it didn't do. I felt my anger fade quickly. "Love you too Dad."

His smile still looked pained as he got up heading to the stairs. "Taylor?"

"Yeah Dad?"

"Promise me something?"

"Okay…"

"Whatever is going on, please be careful?"

"I…" I turned to look over the couch. He had his back to me, standing at the foot of the stairs.

"I'll be leaving for work soon. Have to catch up on some paperwork. Probably be awhile… Just… whatever your choices, promise me that they are _your_ choices? That you'll be careful?"

For just a moment I considered coming clean. Explaining everything. Tell him what really happened to me in that Locker. Why I'd been so preoccupied for the last three months. The bullying, everything. Clean up this whole misunderstanding. Not everything Sebastian told me about who he was, wasn't my story to tell, but enough that dad understood that he was a cape too and what we did. I tried to imagine what his reaction would be.

Would he understand? He knew mom ran with Lustrum but this wasn't quite the same thing. Nor was it the kind of example that would help me out here. Besides, cape stuff was different back then. Powers were still pretty new and people were mostly still getting used to the idea of capes. It was kind of the cool thing to do back then, hunching for a cape. It wasn't like there were as many as there were now.

I mentally shook my head. No, he wouldn't understand. He'd freak. Dad had almost no interest in capes aside from who was who in the areas his people worked. Didn't mean he didn't know things. Didn't hear things. When times were better and mom was still around I remember them talking with friends they'd invite over for dinners. About some of the kinds of things that went on with the capes they knew of. If I thought I was under guard before I told him I had powers, much less what my first night out was like, he'd lock me up and throw away the key. I'd probably never get out of this house again without an escort.

If ever.

Yeah... Better he thought I was sexually active.

"Alright. Promise." I saw him nod his head wearily. "Does that mean I can start running again?"

I saw his shoulders hitch but he nodded. "Usual rules."

Carry the pepper spray, vary my routes, be home by certain hours. I started packing up my unfinished work. Just haphazardly throwing it all into my bag. "Okay." I said.

By the time I got it all put away in my room, changed into running clothes and got back down stairs, dad was just finishing making his dinner for later. I smiled gratefully at him showing the small tube of pepper spray as I walked to the back door.

"New sweater?"

It was oddly cool for a late spring evening. I'd put it on without thinking since it was warmer than my others were and didn't weigh me down as much. I stopped turning to him with my hand on the handle of the door feeling my face flush slightly. "Um, Sebastian gave it to me."

I saw the pained look on his face as he tried to smile. "Oh. Of course. Don't be out too late. Be _safe_."

I nodded uncomfortably before fleeing. I didn't bother with my stretches just moving into a jog to put as much distance from the house as I could. I didn't push myself very hard but kept up a good pace until I was several blocks away. The distance and exercise helping my thoughts in order and putting that conversation with my dad away.

I haven't been able to talk to Sebastian since last Saturday. What with the way dads been acting. I spent a good portion of my confinement just going over what he said and what I knew of him. This was probably my best chance to get some answers to the questions that kept coming up. I reached into the pocket of my jeans pulling out the piece of paper he gave me that night. I looked at the telephone number on it thinking this had better not be a cell phone. If it was, I was sicking my bugs on him. Whether he could kick my ass or not.

I looked around spotting what I needed making my way to it. I pulled the required change before put them into the payphone. As I dialed his number I couldn't help but look at the change tray.

We really needed to finish that talk.

"Renegade."

"Renegade?" I asked surprised.

I heard him laugh at my surprise. "Hey, Taylor. You're lucky you called today. I was going to have to replace this unit soon. Wasn't expecting you to contact me after a couple of days. _I _would have thought I was Cat Six if I wasn't living this life. Figured I scared you off. Wouldn't have blamed you."

"Renegade?" I repeated. I could hear the sounds of people in the back ground. Way more than I think he would have had at his place. Even if he had roommates. _And of course this is a cell number. Why did I think it would be different?_

"Better than 'The Butcher.' Or a half dozen other things I've been called. Blame Tattletale, she named me a few months ago. Wouldn't call me Shepard for work stuff. Something about it being 'unprofessional'. Said Renegade fit. This is a work comm. I don't stay in contact with many people except either for work, or supplies. What's up?"

Who? Work? _So many questions._ "Can we meet?"

"Sure. Business or pleasure?" He answered easily.

I fought the blush creeping along my cheeks at his question. Even if he couldn't see it. "No costume."

"Alright. Hungry?" I heard a flurry of sounds. Sounded like he was typing something. Where the hell was he at? "There's not much where you're at but if you take the downtown transit to the fifth stop, there's a bunch."

"Why am I not surprised you know where I am?" I muttered.

He must have heard me because he started laughing again. "Blame your public comms provider. Their encryption is shit. Besides, figured putting in a backdoor would be easier than ripping out the change tray every time you need to use a public terminal. Pick a spot, I'll only be a bit behind you by the time you arrive. I'll find you."

I shook my head. "Alright."

I hung up the receiver giving it more than a long look before heading to the nearest bus stop. I don't think I'll be able to look at a payphone the same way again.


	9. Southside 2

**Southside 2.2**

The restaurant I chose had an outdoor sitting area. Even though spring was trying to hold its ground there was enough warmth in the air to let people know it was a futile effort. I just sat in the hard plastic seat at my table a cold tea when Sebastian came walking through the light crowd. I wasn't the only one who found the day comfortable as there were more than a few people milling about. Not exactly summer crazy, even for a popular franchise like this place, but still enough to fill half the seats around the table I chose.

I noticed Sebastian was wearing a heavier jacket than I thought was necessary for the chill. Other than he was also carrying a laptop I recognized from the other night. I didn't comment on it.

"Hey."

"Hi. Thanks for coming. I hope I didn't interrupt anything?" I asked.

Sebastian shook his head as he took a seat across from me. "Nothing that won't keep. Just doing some work on some salvage and wiring a second generator. My power needs exceeded the old one a month ago. Just hadn't gotten around to it."

"Oh."

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

I shifted a bit looking around trying to gauge how close people were to me and if they could over hear. Trying to see if it was safe to talk.

"Doing that draws attention."

"What?" I asked turning to him.

"Looking around is suspicious. Normal people couldn't care what you're saying, or who you are talking too. Too wrapped up in their own lives. Unless there are clues that peak their interest. Humanity loves drama, never let anyone tell you different. Loud noises, unexpected movements, things like that. Visual clues like dress style or differences in appearance. Like if I was older than you. An older man talking to a pretty girl, that kind of thing draws attention."

"Judging by what you said before, you _are_ older than me." I started trying to ignore the fact he thought I was pretty. Probably just making his point, but he still said it.

Sebastian chuckled. "Technically, _you_ are. I'm not even a gleam in my great granddaddy's eyes yet." He kept chuckling to himself as he watched my reactions. "Assuming he's even on this planet. Use your peripheral vision. Associate colored shapes and movement to people. Their details don't matter unless they do something that draws _your _attention, and then you need them. Voice modulation when necessary, like when they are closer. Just not so much that it's obvious you're trying to have a private conversation."

"How do you know this stuff?" I asked already knowing part of the answer even as I took mental notes about how he was talking just like he described.

"Part of my N7 training. Required during the N3 courses. Special OPs officers are more than just guys with really good guns. Though never discount the value, of a really good gun. I found they come in handy in a lot more situations than you'd think they would." He stated with a roguish smile.

I shook my head at his antics, but it was a lead in to one of my questions so I took the opportunity. "Renegade?" I asked.

"Like I said on the comm, Tattletale picked it. Told me using my name for work didn't sit well with her. When I didn't pick a name for myself, she gave me one."

"I don't think I've heard of her. Who is she?" I asked hoping that didn't come out as jealous as it sounded in my head.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice. "Local. We crossed paths a few months ago. I had just gotten my network tied into the local extranet. I was doing test runs on my access algorithms on local firewalls when I stumbled across hers."

A couple of tables away I noticed movement and looked. A couple of well-dressed guys had just taken a seat. I bet they went to Arcadia. Most of the well to do teens did. I turned back to Sebastian lowering my voice a bit hoping it didn't carry over them. "She's a tinker?"

"A what?" he asked.

I frowned forgetting for the moment he didn't know a lot about how capes were categorized. "Tinker powers specialize in technology. They build things. Ray guns, computers, stuff like that."

Sebastian shook his head. "Oh, no. She's not an Engineer. I'm not sure what her abilities are, but she noticed me tunneling through her computer's defenses. She couldn't keep me out but it clued me in someone was trying to so I cut the connection and scattered the trail. Wasn't hard to do. Like I said, most encryption I've come across here is worse than basic..."

More movement at that table distracted me. I needed a better way to keep track of people around us. Through my power I noticed that I had access to several small fliers. Fly's mostly. One of the first things I learned about my power was I always very aware of all the bugs in my ranges. At first it was almost impossible to filter out of my consciousness. Made sleeping almost impossible since they were always doing something and with my power I knew exactly where each of them were and what they were doing.

I knew from reading on the Wiki some capes could turn their powers off and on, but I couldn't with mine. I had to learn how to filter it all out. Took me weeks to get used to it. However, that aspect of my power was something I could use here.

I directed the flies by placing one on each person around us. As they settled down I started mapping everything out in a way that I could make sense of. Another aspect of my power was I knew exactly how far away each bug I was placing was in relation to me. When people shifted in their chairs, laughed, or moved about I knew. The only thing I was really concerned about was how close they were to me so I started filtering the rest out. It wasn't nearly as distracting as I thought it might have been and allowed me to focus more on making sure my voice didn't carry too far.

It only took a few seconds but I was distracted enough I almost missed what Sebastian was saying next. "...ple of days later I came across Parahumans Online. Found a message from her posted there addressed to 'Fly by Night'. Said I could have at least bought her dinner after sneaking in through her window."

I rolled my eyes at that. Tattletale was already sounding like quite the character. "Wouldn't have grabbed my attention but she posted a segment from my hacking algorithm. I figured she was an engineer who must have gotten part of the code before I sanitized it. Piqued my interest enough that I agreed to meet with her."

"Since then she contacts me when she needs a strategist. Tried to recruit me for her squad, the Undersiders. Wasn't interested. I didn't think I'd be here this long and I've been trying to not involve myself. My leading theory then was I might have somehow slipped through time after the Crucible fired. Maybe we damaged the quantum filaments that kept things flowing in one direction or something equally impossible. Could ruin things for the future if I changed too much."

"Oh." A lot of that went over my head. Still, by the parts I understood I could see where he was going with that. "But now you don't think that's the case?"

"No, pretty sold on the idea of an alternate dimension. If only because it makes more sense and I can understand it better. Besides, there was nothing in my peoples past even remotely like parahumans. An alternate dimension is the only thing that makes sense."

"Oh."I waited until a couple of people passing too close went far enough away before I started talking again. Sebastian apparently noticed them too and smiled at me. He didn't know I was cheating, but it still felt good.

"Um, what did you mean when you mentioned being a 'Strategist'?"

"They're criminals. Small time. Pay well and they go the extra mile to avoid harming civilians. I've worked with worse. Now and then Tattletale will contact me when a job of theirs is risky enough that they can't guarantee a flawless execution." He leaned in a bit emphasizing his point. "They're very particular about their reputation."

I fidgeted frowning. "You work with, and rob criminals?"

He shrugged as if it wasn't anything new. "Like I said, I've worked with worse. My old squad was full of interesting characters with a diverse background. I learned a long time ago, the best of the best doesn't necessarily come from the upright and honest. As for robbing criminals, I need resources. They have them. If you're fast, careful, and efficient, you can make a lot of credits robbing criminals. Feels good too. Besides, it means less jobs, takes less effort to rob one criminal storehouse compared to trying to get it through any other channel. Tech is expensive. Even garbage tech. Probably because it takes a lot more of it to get to where I want."

"What about reprisals? Aren't you worried there going to want their stuff back? Or even revenge?"

Sebastian shrugged obviously unconcerned. "If they can find me, they're welcome to try."

I felt a slight chill race down my spine at the tone in his voice. There was something about the way he said that which made me think trying would be a very bad idea. I had a momentary flash back from our fight with Lung. Yeah, defiantly a bad idea.

I decided to change subjects. That one was skirting way to close to things best left unsaid for the moment. "What are you going to do now?"

"Do?"

"Well, have you thought about going to the Protectorate for help? Maybe they can find you a way home." I suggested.

He shook his head. "I considered it when I discovered that this world knew of, and had access to other dimensions. I was surprised how common the knowledge was. In my dimension, if something like that existed it would have been hushed up and buried so deep only the Council would have known if it's existence. Anyway, once I learned of the communications channel with what your people call 'Earth Alph' I went looking for others. What I found was references to very specific legislation banning any other attempts to gain access to other worlds. Not that I can't understand why, but that led me to discover that should any D.C. be found they were to be detained indefinitely."

"D.C.?"

"Dimensional Crossover."

"Why would they do that?" I asked confused. I knew of the policy of not actively crossing over to other worlds because it was believed it could cause a war, but it didn't make sense they would hold someone forever if it was accidental. With all the weird powers out there, you would think it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Sebastian shrugged. His eyes darted for just a moment to the right before they fixed on me again. Through my power I knew he was checking on a pedestrian that just crossed the road near us. "Not sure. It's classified and hidden behind firewalls I haven't been able to hack yet. I'll need a lot more hardware before I can even attempt it."

"Oh." I muttered trying to ignore the fact he was not only planning on hacking into classified files, but had already likely tried.

"What about you?"

"Oh, well…"

Sebastian opened up his laptop while I tried to figure out how to answer him. "Not sure what you mean. Like, am I going to college after high school? My dad wants me too, and I've thought about it."

"That's part of it. Any idea what you want out of advanced education?"

As I thought about it I realized I hadn't really thought about my future, aside as my career as a hero, since I got my powers. Before I thought about possibly getting a degree in English, like mom. Maybe teaching, but that soured fast in the last couple of years. Really, anything to do with school seemed like a bad joke to me now.

As I started to answer, I frowned at how neatly he turned the conversation on me. "No actually. I mean, except for what I was doing last Saturday. Even if I did almost die before you saved me."

"Why not join…" He looked to the screen for a moment before turning back to me.

"Sorry, ever since the other night I've been trying to learn more about your world but I'll be honest, history was never my strong suit. I'm decent at intelligence gathering but I'm far better at using it, than getting it. Ah, there it is. The Wards. Why not join them? Training, protection, they even pay you. Grants for college and the promise of work with the Protectorate. Some of these enlistment packages are pretty nice. From what I've seen of your abilities, you could do really well there. Joining seems to be the thing to do. Like joining the Alliance was for me."

It was my turn to shrug. I ran my finger along lip of the cheap plastic cup that my tea was in as my eyes stared unfocused at the fast food restaurants logo on it. It took me a while to put it all into perspective before I started to explain. "It's complicated. My school life isn't all that great to be honest. I considered applying, but the idea of escaping the stresses of high school by flinging myself into a mess of teenage drama, adult oversight and restricting schedules seemed self-defeating." I sighed as the real reason came out. "Besides, I'd have to tell my dad about...what I can do. That's complicated for a completely different reason."

"Huh." We lapsed into silence for a while. The crowd around us was picking up and I was starting to get worried someone might overhear us. I was thinking of saying something about it when Sebastian started talking again. As I looked up from my tea I noticed he was looking at his laptop screen. "Unrelated question. What do you know of Captains Hill?"

I blushed, fidgeting a bit in my seat. "Um, its way out on the west side. At the top there's a place that's scenic. Popular with the locals. Ocean view kind of thing. See the whole coastline, the whole city."

I looked away. I didn't mention that it was also the place most adventurous couples went. Usually at night so they could be together. I'd heard the stories at school during those times when people forgot I existed. So and so took so and so. They did things or things didn't happen.

As I took a sip of my tea I couldn't help but wonder why he was asking me that. He wasn't suggesting…

Was he?

"Interested in getting wet?"

I snorted my tea. My eyes widened behind my glasses as I covered my dripping nose and mouth with my hand. "Excuse me?" I asked shocked.

I didn't notice when he pulled out his cell, but as I was busy pulling some napkins from the dispenser on the table to clean myself up I saw him looking up from it. I was very thankful he didn't add to my current embarrassment by commenting though I could see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "I just got a message from Leet agreeing to trade. Friday night."

"You want me to go with you to meet _villains_?" I asked quietly, still trying to recover from my misunderstanding. Not to mention trying to keep up with the conversation changes. "With_ Leet_?"

He nodded easily. "I figure he'll bring his whole squad with him. He doesn't strike me as the type to meet with a random unknown solo. But the way I see it, why not? Best case scenario it's a quick transaction with the possibility of a new contact. Worst case scenario, we'll have to fight them. Either way, should be fun. I figure Captains Hill is pretty remote from what you said. Matches up with the layout I found. It'd be a good place to talk about that, and a few other things. Getting a bit crowded here."

Feeling like a complete idiot about where my mind was jumping too I nodded. I blamed dad for it. Thinking the way he did about this. "Buses don't run up there at this time of evening." I informed him.

"Not a problem. I have transportation."

"You know how to drive, and have a car?" I asked surprised. I really hoped it wasn't stolen. Though if it was, I can't say I'd be surprised. He seemed to steal everything else he came across.

He smiled widely showing his teeth. For some reason, I started to get a bad feeling about this.


	10. Southside 3

**Southside 2.3**

I unsteadily climbed off the back of Sebastian's motorcycle as quickly as I could without falling on my face. He was insane.

"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again! You almost got us killed! Where the hell did you learn to drive!" I yelled as I swatted at his laughing frame.

When he said he had a vehicle, I was slightly worried it might have been stolen, but he assured me it wasn't. Said he assembled it from parts he found where he was squatting. When I saw it was a motorcycle I was concerned. Riding tandem was dangerous enough for experienced drivers but he seemed confident enough that I climbed on back anyways.

When he hit the throttle, I was scared. Sebastian seemed to live under the assumption there existed only two speeds. Standing still, and all out. After our first turn, that fear quickly evolved into a terrified panic.

I stood looking at him through the visor of the helmet he lent me. Captains Hill generally took about an hour and a half on bus from Downtown due to traffic stops, traffic itself, and the roundabout distance the roadway was set.

Sebastian made it in twenty.

He paid no attention to the speed limit as we rocketed through the streets of downtown. I still wasn't sure if we avoided collisions with other drivers more from luck than any skill on Sebastian's part. The only thing I did know about driving was that from my own driver's license booklet. Sidewalks were not considered part of the roadway for motorists, you were supposed to stop at all red lights, and you were supposed to signal when changing lanes. That didn't include signaling just before using your powers to jump from an overpass to the roadway below because you missed the off ramp.

I was also pretty confident Sebastian never read that booklet. I lost count of how many near hits we had.

He was still laughing at me. It was almost worth it to out myself right here by sicing my bugs on him just to see the look on his face. There were a lot of bugs here. I could feel them with my power, all of them stilled, waiting for me to direct them. I struggled to calm down as I let the image wash over me.

It'd be totally worth it.

"Taught myself when I was fourteen." He said still laughing as he undid his helmet.

I followed suit. If only so he knew I was glaring at him. "That explains a lot! You're a menace!" I accused as I got free of it.

"In my defense," He stated as he placed his own helmet on the tank of the bike. "I'm a bit spoiled. Most vehicles I'm used to are V.I. operated or have inertial dampeners to cut down on G Forces. I haven't driven anything that didn't, at least, have a gravimetric stabilizing axis in a long time."

Still fuming at his antics I walked over putting my helmet down next to his. Captain's Hill was set up like a grand park. Duck pond in the middle to our right and a large expanse of fairly flat grass spread out over the area. The mountains grew larger the further west you went, which caused the place to get darker quicker as their shadows took over.

I released my hold on the bugs deciding to calm down in a more traditional method. Sebastian matched my steps as I led him over to one of the railings that overlooked the city. It was far enough from the parking areas that we shouldn't be overheard and offered a clear line of sight for quite a ways over the park itself.

I noticed there weren't many people in the park today. Just a couple of families and their kids. My outburst drew attention from some but thankfully none of them were close enough to hear what we said.

I used the same trick from earlier and 'tagged' everyone in my range to keep an eye on them just in case any of them got curious. "You are way too cavalier about this stuff. We could have gotten hurt. Worse, we could have hurt others."

Sebastian nodded to my points not seeming to be too fussed. "True enough, but we didn't. I barriered the one car that got spooked and ran off the road. The driver looked fine."

I sighed as we reached the railing. "He was puking his guts out the second his car came to a stop."

"Well, yeah, but that could have been the Barrier. Some people don't react well to mass effect fields. Other than that, he was fine."

"How can you be so...callous about other people like that?" I asked frazzled. Especially since he treated me completely different.

I watched Sebastian rest his arms on the railing taking in the view of the bay. The view was every bit as good as I heard about though I'd never been here before myself. I mentally snorted at the thought anyone would have bothered to take me, of all people, up here. Not without the trio's say so and only then to do something to hurt me. Not that after the last year or so I would have trusted anyone from Winslow to bring me here even if they had asked.

The landscape fell away showing the city spread out along the bay with the ocean serving as a backdrop. From here the city looked peaceful, idealic. The Docks even looked good framed in the fading light of the setting sun. You couldn't see the masses of unemployed, the slowly boiling cape drama between gangs or heroes, or any of the gritty realities that came with living in a city the size of Brockton Bay.

Sebastian was quiet long enough I worried that in my anger I might have said something he took offense too. When he did finally start talking it was in a very measured tone. "Life experience I suppose."

"You're going to have to explain that."

He nodded frowning slightly. "Alliance recruiting ads are well known for their half-truths." He stated. I wasn't sure where he was going with that but I listened.

"They like to put the best spin on military life as they can. Want to travel? Join the Marines and you can travel the galaxy for free in state of the art Alliance vessels. Want to meet new and exciting races? Enlist and you could find yourself stationed anywhere from the Citadel Embassy Offices, to Elysium."

"What they don't tell you is that the Galaxy is not the wonderful epic we imagine it is. Just like this view. You know better than I do what the streets of this city is like. This view makes it seem like such a great, peaceful place to be. Yet we know how fragile that image is, and how misleading." Sebastian stated unknowingly echoing my thoughts from earlier. I didn't say anything just letting him continue.

"There's roughly about a hundred and twenty year's difference from my time and yours. You really think humanity evolves all that much in the next hundred and so years? Or that humanity has the monopoly on cruelty? Other galactic civilizations are just as messed up as we are. Most of them have been doing it longer than us and are just better at it. Actually one of the first lessons I learned just before I enlisted."

"That's...kinda depressing actually." I stated uncomfortably.

"Yeah, it is. I suppose I'm painting it a bit too black. There's a lot of good out there too. Good people, unbelievable sights to see." He stated confidently as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter.

I turned when I heard a kid squeal behind us. Must have missed him before. I corrected that as soon as I heard him. Couldn't have been more than six or so by the look of him. He was laughing being chased by his sister who was red faced angry about something. She was older than he was and gained on him quickly. They both tumbled into the grass while their parents looked on fondly.

"Like Mindoir?" I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. "What was it like?" That seemed like a safe enough topic.

"Not much different than here."

"Then Earth?"

Sebastian chuckled. "More like Brockton Bay. Grass was more blue than green and we had two moons. The sky was more violet. Other than that it wasn't that much different. Wild life excepting of course. The main hub of the colony was set into a bay like this."

He pointed outward. Even in the poor light of the fading dusk I could tell he was pointing to the Downtown area. "Some differences of course. Like there? That was where our spaceport was. We even had a place like this called Shaverson's Rest. Named after one of the shuttle pilots of the original landing."

He moved his finger pointing over to the docks area now. "Exogeni had their local headquarters about there. Huge building."

"Exogeni?" I couldn't help but ask.

"All colonies were sponsored by someone. Exogeni was the biggest. They offered pay and land grants to colonists who signed on. The better your skill set, the more you got. You still worked for them doing whatever they wanted you to, usually studying something they were interested in that the survey team discovered. For Mindoir, that was the Glitter Caves way out in the Sawthorn Mountains."

"Oh wow."

"Of course," he continued. "The colony itself wasn't much more than a collection of prefabs all strung together in grids. At least, there at the hub. I didn't live close to the port. Dad had a stake about three hours northwest of it. Grew up out there. Only came into town when Mom was on leave."

Sebastian was smiling around his cigarette which made me smile. It reminded me of when we watched the sunrise last week. "Your mom was military?"

"Second Lieutenant Samantha Shepard." He nodded. "Career Military in the Fleet. Had her heart set on sitting in the big chair one day. Her own command."

I noted the slightly sad expression on his face as he talked about his mother. "That had to be hard on you and your dad."

"It was." It was stated so matter of factually that it caught my attention. "Hardly ever saw her. Though every time I did, it was great. Ended too soon of course, but that's military life for you. Dad didn't want me growing up living on one ship or another. Worse, one posting to another. So, when they found out she was pregnant, dad signed on with Exogeni as a Xeno Botanist. Mom had me there when she was due."

Something about his voice was confusing. He had a smile on his face, but a sad look in his eyes that I couldn't figure out. "You didn't like it?"

"I didn't dislike it." He stated flicking the butt of his cigarette over the cliff face. It was quickly lost to the shear drop in front of us. "I understood why things were the way they were. I dealt with it."

I frowned at that. "I'm not following. What do you mean you 'dealt' with it?"

"I told you I was a latent Biotic, remember? Well, back then Biotics were pretty new to Humanity. We didn't know anything about it until after we joined the galactic community. At first we thought it was a quirk of alien biology, but when humans started manifesting them things got dicey. Studies were done, and not all of them exactly legal. It wasn't unheard of back then to hear of people dosing pregnant women with Eezo or causing accidents in orbit that dumped it over colonies. Those were just the most common, there was a lot worse done."

"I don't think I completely understand that either. 'Eezo'?"

"Element Zero. The catalyst for generating mass effect fields. For every biotic that was born healthy from exposure to eezo, ten were born deformed or had cancerous growths. Of those, maybe half made it to adulthood. Most wished they hadn't. With our expansion beyond the Sol System, humanity was going through a population boom. Just so you know, humanity did a lot of colonizing before the First Contact War. We went from only living within the system of our birth, to colonizing dozens of worlds. So I'm sure you get the idea of the kind of numbers here."

I felt a shiver run down my spine at the picture he was painting. It reminded me of some of the horror stories that came up every now and then. People doing horrible things trying to force people to get powers or doing certain things to try and create certain powers in people they experimented on. It seemed that the more people learned about powers the more horrific the stories became. Not to mention, in those rare times when it actually worked, the tragedies that usually followed when the newly powered went on a rampage. That was actually more common that I liked to think about.

The sun had set far enough behind the mountains that it shrouded us in darkness without me noticing. The lights of the bay were alive all throughout the city. In a way, it felt like we were all alone up here. I turned away from the view to take in Sebastian's solemn expression. "How old were you when you started showing powers? Um, you call them biotics right?"

"Yeah. About four, my dad said. I was angry and threw my cup. Luckily I missed my dad, but it cracked the plexiglass window of our house. You probably don't understand that, but let's just say plexi is pretty strong stuff. Think transparent, industrial strength plastic. I think the equivalent you have here is roughly about six inches thick for the half inch we used."

"Fuck." I breathed as images started rolling through my head. "I only got my powers a few months ago. I can't imagine what I would have done if I had them at four."

Sebastian nodded understandingly. "Yeah. So dad called mom, and mom took leave so they could talk. They decided to not say anything but dad kept watch on me after that. By the time I was seven, my control was enough I was experimenting. Mom took leave again."

"I'm guessing that's not very common?" I asked getting a feeling where this was going.

"No." he agreed. "By that time others had also shown potential, but didn't have nearly the control or the power I was showing. Things changed after mom showed that time."

I watched as Sebastian kept his eyes looking over the city. I was sure he wasn't seeing the view anymore. "I remember being excited because mom was home earlier than she was supposed to be. Couldn't sleep so I snuck down finding my parents arguing. It was the first time I realized what my abilities were doing to them."

I swallowed not liking the picture that was forming.

"I was too young to fully understand everything but what I did understand was that they were afraid. Afraid of me and what I could do. Afraid of the control I had. One of the things I haven't mentioned was that in order for most biotics to use their abilities, they needed to have an implant installed. It helped the biotic harness and control their powers to create desired effects. At least, according to the Asari. They pretty much wrote the book on biotics so that was that. Everyone conformed to their way of doing things since it worked so well."

"But you didn't need one?" I asked.

"I got one later when I joined the Alliance, but back then? Nope. Granted, I wasn't strong enough to challenge a Battlemaster but I was strong enough to spook my parents. Enough so that mom took a week of family leave when she didn't have it."

I watched as his eyes seem to harden. "I gave it up. Stopped using them all together. Tried to pretend I couldn't. Dad noticed right away. I figured he knew, or at least knew enough to guess I overheard some of what was said."

He gave it up. Ever since I got my powers, they were all I could think about. I even began hinging my future on them and what I would do to help people as a cape. I thought of my dad. If something happened, and he found out, could I do that? Was I strong enough to just not use them anymore if he asked me? Could I do that? Just be like everyone else?

I didn't like the fact I couldn't answer those questions.

I followed Sebastian when he turned from the railing taking a seat at one of the overlook benches behind us. He leaned on his elbows cupping his chin. Eyes still looking lost as he continued. "Through myself into schooling when I got older. Didn't have many friends. Community was pretty close knit and there was a prejudice against biotics because people were afraid of what they could do. Either by design or accident. So I studied. Found I had a knack for mathematics and machinery. Pleased dad to no end. He bought me my first Omni-tool when I was twelve and a rebuild kit for a Skyliner."

His mood lightened as he talked and I was happy to see his smile return. "Skyliner?" I prompted him. This was probably the first true smile on his face the entire time he had talked about his growing up.

His chuckle made my smile wider as my mood seemed to lift with his. "It's not that much different than the motorcycle back there. Except, no wheels. Uses mass effect fields to keep it up. Took me a year and a half to build it. Spent the next eight months modifying it with every mod I could get my hands on and some I had to cobble together. Must have explored half of Mindoir on that thing. By the time I was sixteen it was barely recognizable from the standard package."

If anything his smile got wider. "I would escape into the outback every chance I could. Eventually led me out into the Roclaws." Sebastian turned to me with an animated expression. "A vast stretch of canyons and cavernous mountains some of the locals would race through for kicks. It was addicting back then. Pushing the limits of the bike and my skills at high speeds. Knowing if either failed I'd be shredded long before I knew it."

"When I was running the track, it was like the volume got turned down. Nothing mattered anymore. All that existed was the next turn, the next stretch. Would I be able to ride the wall enough to cut a second off my time, or would I clip one of the protrusions so that I'd lose control and crash? Could I cut that corner enough to be inside of that guy, or would we both end up as paint on the wall?"

"Eh, truth be told, I wasn't very good, but I loved the feeling I got doing it. Always a new challenge to out think. Pushing my skills and mortality to the edge. Out fighting the other racers around me. Felt like being free. I never won a race, think the best I ever did was come in fourth, but I really loved doing it."

There was something in his voice as he finished that jarred me. Something final. "Something happened." I stated. It wasn't a question really. I could tell that much. He didn't answer right away, instead pulling another cigarette pausing only long enough to light it and gather his thoughts.

We were too far from parking area for the lights to do more than intensify the darkness around us. His words were smoky in what little light there was. "I learned what I was _really_ good at."

I swallowed. His tone sounded dead, emotionless. Even his eyes were hard. Seemingly to be holes of blackness in his face. "Like I said before, the galaxy isn't what the vids paint it as. I just finished installing an upgrade to the Skyliners thrusters and was testing them out when we found out the truth the hard way. Colony was attacked."

"Fucking Batarians." He growled. "The Alliance and the Hegemony had been butting heads for years over expansion rights. The Batarians firmly believed that the Attican Traverse was theirs and that Humanity did not have any rights to settle there. In the clash that followed the Citadel Council sided with us, and the Batarians closed their embassy in protest. This was all news back then, but it didn't feel real enough to bother about it. It wasn't like it would affect _us_ after all."

"Tensions had apparently ratcheted up enough by this point. They attacked. But it wasn't enough to destroy the colony, they wanted slaves. Wanted to add insult to injury I guess. I was halfway through the track when I heard the first explosion."

His chuckle as he paused was bitter. "Almost killed myself when it hit. Thought I clipped the wall and was crashing before I realized I was fine. I shot out of the canyon to get a look to see what had happened thinking maybe a transit shuttle went down nearby. That was when I saw three skimmers over the Stockton's stake. The explosion was their rover getting disabled. The survivors were already being rounded up."

"There was nothing I could do about it except get caught myself. So I fled. Pushed the bike harder than I did during the races trying to get home. Make sure dad was alright. By the time I got there, it was already over."

"Dad apparently had put up a good fight. When I got there half the house was burning. Several Batarians were dead outside, shot. Never did find anything substantial of dad left. They must have figured he wasn't worth capturing and blew the house up just to get rid of him."

Sebastian's voice was calm. Like he was giving a report on events and not something he lived through. In contrast my breathing was anything but as I listened. Horrified by his experience. "At first, I was in shock. It just didn't seem real. No idea how long I stood there watching my house burn but it was a while I guess. I didn't break out of it until I heard another explosion not far away from the McKinnon stake. Then I felt the something. Anger. I found a rifle on the ground, picked it up, and raced over there."

He flicked the cigarette outward so it flew over the cliff. I kept my eyes on him as he leaned back on the bench. "I didn't even slow down. Just awkwardly balanced the rifle on the handlebars and fired. Actually the first time I ever fired a gun, dad didn't approve you know? Anyways, I manage to drop two before they knew what hit them. One of them got off a close shot with a grenade launcher. Close enough that it threw me off the Skyliner. The bike ended up killing one of his squadmates as it barreled into him, and I was thrown close to the house."

"Lost the rifle in the fall but I was alive. Surprised the hell out of me when I didn't find anything broken. Didn't realize it at the time but I used a barrier to protect myself. Mass accelerated rounds were neutralized as I ran behind the house where I found John. They shot him up pretty good and he was bleeding out when I threw myself behind the cover he was laying behind. Must have happened right before I got there."

Sebastian's voice lowered so I had to lean in to hear him. "I've never forgotten that moment. John laying there, blood running from his mouth. Gaping wounds to his chest, missing arm. Voice so hoarse I could barely make out the words he said. Never forgot those either. _'I fucking hate you Shepard. You're a biotic freak… A monster… but you're OUR monster… I don't care what you have to do, I don't care if you die… you don't let them get my sister..."_

Sebastian was quiet for a long time after that. I had no idea what to say and just stayed quiet next to him. I still struggled trying to wrap my head around how horrible that must have been when he started speaking. "I don't remember a lot of what happened next. Gunfire and smoke. Explosions and screams all jumbled together. By the time the Alliance finally arrived I had the Mckinnons out front under sheets. The area was littered in smoking craters and broken skimmers. M… Marleen was the only one to make it from her family. She sat huddled not far away. Just watching me as if I would attack her next but not willing to be away from me in case the Batarians came back."

"Found out later the Batarians managed to get about two-thirds of the colony. Some fought back for all the good it did. When the Alliance Response Team hit the ground they got bogged down in a ground war they couldn't win. Batarians had dug into the colony hub where they were processing the slaves they had gathered. They used the colonists as a shield as they stuck control implants into the backs of their heads. Marines tried to free them, even managed to get a few. Not many, and it cost a lot of marines their lives. As it happens, Mom was one of those. Ever since that night she came home to talk to dad about my abilities, she kept herself attached to whatever fleet was closest. Just in case something happened. She thought I was with the other colonists in the slave pens. Gave her life trying to free them."

"Oh god, that's so horrible. Is what happened, that's why you see people the way you do?"

"Sort of." Sebastian said. "It was the first time I learned the underlying truth to the galaxy. Good things don't stay good by themselves. Inspiring sights will get blown up. Good people get killed all the time. When you're thinking galactically? The numbers really start getting terrifying. Good things have to be protected by someone or there won't be anything left for anyone to enjoy. That day, I managed to save only one. Afterward things didn't make sense anymore. Half the reason I joined the Alliance was I was looking for a way for it all to make sense. I was in basic when things clicked."

"My Drill instructor in Basic was known for two things. The first was a saying anytime he thought we were not giving all we had. Accused us of 'GoldBricking' and harassed us until we got back to work."

Sebastian paused to take out another cigarette. "The other was one that didn't come up often. Probably never more than once or twice a training rotation. Always when someone would ask why he pushed us so hard. Someone always did."

"Gunnery Chief Ellison would look at them and say, 'This is a simple game of numbers people. Fact is, they have more. If humanity is to stay in the game with any hope of success, then we have to be better. For every one of us that falls, we take twenty of them. Marines exist for this purpose. To make it so costly to kill us, that they have no choice but to coexist with us instead. We maintain peace, because any alternative is too costly to contemplate."

"I remember thinking back to Mindoir. I saved one, and according to the reports, I killed over a dozen in the first round. They sent reinforcements and I killed them. There wasn't a third. _That_ was an equation that made sense. I built on it, based my career on it. Someone had to step up and be the monster that kept the other monsters at bay. Someone had to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Someone who was able, _willing_, to do what was necessary to see it done. Anyone could have done it. Just so happened, I found I was _really_ good at it."

"What the fuck am I doing..." Sebastian muttered tossing the half burnt cigarette away before putting his face in his hands. "Sorry, not the conversation I had planned to have with you."

I tried to comfort him by awkwardly putting my hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. I'm guessing you don't have many people to talk to like this, even before you ended up here."

With his head still in his hands he shook it slightly. "Not really. I had a good squad who were all good people. Friends. All of us united in purpose for the things we were trying to do, but when you're facing extinction there isn't time to think about the past or maybes. You just deal with it, keep going. I told Tali the most, but there never seemed to be time for any honest 'heart to heart'."

"Maybe when you find a way back?" I tried to console him.

He finally looked up. "Won't matter even if I did make it back. They're all dead. I was the only one to make it to the Citadel in the final push. Tali took a hit right at the end. I don't see how she would have survived. As for the others, they were scattered all over the planet. Some of them might have survived, but I wasn't as close to them as I was Tali. Garrus maybe, but he was with me. He fell before Tali did."

If even a quarter of his life was like what I'd learned so far, was it any wonder he was the way he was? How much horror could anyone take before they simply started going through the motions? Desensitized to the point that caring took _effort_.

I was broken from my thoughts when he spoke. "What I really wanted to talk to you about was this trade with Leet, and maybe what we could do afterward."

"What do you mean?"

"If things go right with Leet, I'll have something that's going to change the scope of the game. It looks like I'm stuck here, so I might as well make the adjustments necessary and cope. I was curious if you wanted to team up?"

"Seriously?"

"Sure. You want to help people but you said that you didn't want to join the Wards, so I assume that means you're not going to join the Protectorate later. This city's overrun with crazy ass people hurting civilians. Like that guy we took out."

That was true. More so than I think he understood. Lung was scary, and his gang was practically psychopaths, but they weren't the worst in the city. "This is your world and you know the city," he continued. "I know how to fight and win. We'd make a good team."

"First of all, assuming we tried to do that and lived, never mind succeeded in taking out the leadership of the city's gangs, they'd unite to take us out. That kind of thing has happened before, in other cities." I cautioned him even if I was starting to like the idea.

"So we start smaller, and don't get caught. I'm going to need a lot of resources if things go well Friday. We can hit their storehouses, pick off the lower membership. Without a sponsor, like your PRT, we'll need a way to add to our inventory. I'm going to have to get it from somewhere. Might as well be the criminal element of the city. I've been doing that anyways but if you wanted, we could do a lot more."

I nodded agreeing with him. He did have some good points. My next thought had me frown slightly as I looked up from the grass I was staring at. "No killing. I mean it."

He frowned but I continued on trying to get him to see my point. "Look, it's just too...permanent."

"Permanent is pretty effective though." He stated with his frown still in place.

I winced. "It is but it's going to make the local heros come after us. Eventually, we'd have every cape in the city targeting us. We won't survive like that."

"True enough." He acknowledged. He stayed quiet a moment while thinking things out. "Okay, how about this then. Since this is your city, you call it."

"You want me to be the leader?" I asked pointed at myself stunned. He couldn't be serious about that.

He was.

"Sure. In a way you're right. This isn't the same thing as what I'm used to. The Alliance utilized me in a much more straightforward fashion. They had a problem they wanted gone, they sent me and I made it go away. I wouldn't say they outright encouraged my methods, but they didn't curb them either. I learned what lines I couldn't cross, which weren't many mind you, and those they would turn a blind eye too. By the time I attained my N7 designation and received my officers' commission my career was built on that. The Alliance knew the value of a good monster. Especially if it followed orders and stayed in the bounds they imposed."

He smiled at me. It wasn't his nice smile. "Don't get me wrong, monsters have their uses, and people can even tolerate us for that reason. But let's be honest here. Monsters don't make 'good people'."

The causal way he referred to himself got to me. I found myself going over what he told me earlier and what he was saying now. "I don't think you're a monster, Sebastian."

His smile softened. Apparently appreciating the sentiment. "We both know I'm not exactly what you would call a 'good' person. If I was, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

I smiled back at him hearing the words tumbling out of me before I knew what I was saying. "You're good to me."

My words make him blink. In the night that was around us his smile was harder to see but it looked like he was bemused by what I said. I didn't say anything more on it. Just turned away before he noticed my blush. Looked out onto the city spread out before us thinking of the things he said, and his idea.

Even with everything he told me so far, I couldn't wrap my head around the things that happened to him or how people used him afterward. And that was what it looked like to me. His 'Alliance' took someone who just lost his home, both his parents, got lost in a powered rage, and then basically said, 'Good job. You should do that more often. Join us and we'll let you. We can teach you how to do it better.'

_So wrong_ I thought. No wonder he acted the way he did. Between not being from this world and having no ties to it, and all that, was it any wonder he came out all callous and cold? My following shiver had nothing to do with the evening chill.

The thought that hurt the most was that Sebastian was probably more broken than I was, and I had no delusions I was a model person. I had my own bag of tricks, as people say. What said more was that even through all of that, what he thought of himself, all the things that happened to him, he still tried to protect people. He wouldn't have given me his sweater otherwise. Wouldn't have jumped to help a stranger in trouble by fighting Lung either.

I don't know how long we sat there, looking over the city quietly before I voiced my conclusions. Everything crystallizing before me. "I suppose if we're going to team up, I'd best figure out a name for myself. It's not going to look good for our rep if everyone is calling me 'Bug Girl' or something equally stupid. Any suggestions?"


	11. Southside Interlude Tattletale

**Southside Interlude: Tattletale**

Lisa's sighed in frustration. "I tried. He wasn't interested."

_"Try again. Everyone has a weakness. Or a vice. Find his. I don't like wildcards, nor do I tolerate them."_

"I understand." she muttered. He was determined, one way or the other to see this done. Even without her power she knew there was no point in arguing any further.

_"Good. This is what I pay you for. I will be expecting your call soon with that information."_ The voice stated firmly before he hung up.

Lisa lowered the phone to the table before pushing back a stray lock of her blond hair. The boss was rattled. In the last year she worked for him she'd never heard him rattled before. What the hell did Shepard do that would have gotten the boss's attention, much less this reaction? He wasn't an active cape in the sense that other solos were. He didn't get into flashy fights, didn't pull any jobs that put him in the public eye, nor was he out to make a name for himself. When he went out as Renegade the only evidence of him doing so was the fact a villain got robbed. Granted there was the occasional body count but people got killed all the time in the city. This was doubly true for henchmen. No one had a clue who was doing it, and everyone was blaming everyone else. The chaos suited the boss just fine up until now. So, what changed?

She thought about using her power to see if she could figure it out but decided not to. They had their own job tonight and Brian would get upset if she ended up with a migraine before they even left. This was one of those the boss asked them to do so they couldn't really back out of it. Especially with the mood he was in.

Instead she opened her laptop using her power just enough to get the days pass codes to remotely access the Protectorate security feeds. Maybe they knew something.

While she waited for the feed to upload she looked around their flat. Alec was lazing on the couch playing one of his games. Rachel must have left at some point since Lisa didn't see her anywhere. A quick check to the time on the computer told her that it would still be a while before Brian showed up.

Good, no distractions.

"You talk a lot of shit for a little bitch about to get fucked up." Alec mocked to whoever he was gaming with.

_Correction. Not many distractions. _Lisa thought smiling.

"Yeah yeah. Didn't hear your mom complaining about it last night."

Lisa shook her head chuckling to herself at the one sided conversation happening across from her. The feed finally finished loading showing her the inside of Director Piggots office. Bland whitewashed walls, blue carpet freshly cleaned. File cabinets along the wall all sat in order without so much as a picture or plant to personalize them. As always her desk was perfectly in order with everything in its place. Paperwork of some kind stacked neatly in trays, pencils in their cups. So neurotic. The fat old woman was sitting at her desk wearing a frown, and a hideous dress suit. Across from her standing stiff as a board was Armsmaster with his arms folded. Lisa wondered if he was just irritated to be in her presence, or if the room itself irritated him. She never could figure it out but he always looked like that when they had these meetings.

Lisa wished she had some popcorn. These two were always good for a laugh. She raised the volume on her speakers to listen in.

_"It's been a week."_ Piggot spoke. _"So, in light of that, what have you learned from your investigation?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"...Nothing."_

"Crap. There went that idea." Lisa muttered to herself.

From across the room her roommates loud voice intruded. "BOOM! Got you! Stupid campy asshole. Learn how to play the fucking game before you talk shit."

His voice trailed off continuing to insult whoever it was he was insulting this time. She tuned him out again returning her attention to the screen. Apparently, the Protectorate didn't know more than she did. It was disappointing, but also vindicating.

She opened a second window to go through Parahumans Online while half listening to the continued discussion between Armsmaster and Director Piggot. Even if nothing interesting turned up, it was always fun to listen to these two go at it.

_"I have come to expect a certain level of performance from you Armsmaster. I expect this level of inadequacy from my wards, but not from my Protectorate assets."_

Armsmaster snorted which made Lisa grin. As usual, his reply was crisp, almost bored. _"If you think you can do better, Director, you're more than welcome to do so. The fact is, there is no information to be had. Everything we know as fact was in my report. Nothing concrete has come up since."_

The PO was full of speculation. Ranging from Protectorate cover ups to assassination attempts. The leading theory among 'the tin foil hats' was that a new cape was active in the city but it was anyone's guess as to which side they fell on if it was true. Seemed even the rumor mill didn't have anything either.

_"What does the 'Think Tank' say about this? Surely our division of thinkers has uncovered something to do with this mysterious situation. After all, that is what we pay them for."_

Lisa turned listening closely. That was new. She knew they had thinkers, but this was the first time it was mentioned they had them looking into this.

_"Nothing."_

_"...Nothing. I think this 'nothing' needs an explanation of greater depth, than one word."_

It was like watching a soap opera whenever these two butted heads. A really bad soap opera. Armsmaster was clearly doing his best to needle the Director, who was in turn taking great pleasure in dressing him down. As Lisa listened she wondered if they would actually hit each other this time. Now _that_ would be daytime drama at its finest. The only problem was, who to root for?

_"When tasked with uncovering what happened to Lung before the PRT response team arrived, they replied with the same uncertain recollections as in other past incidents. As it stands, _that_ is the only link between this incident, and the others like it in the last five months."_

_"In each case, I'm sure you recall, when they investigated using their powers the same thing happened. They couldn't get answers, something interfered to remove most of the picture. Just blanks where information should be. We do not know this persons age, sex, height, weight, hair color, costume, tendencies, or goals. In short, we know 'nothing'._

Her eyes widened as her smile got bigger. _So, it's not just me. _Lisa sat back in her chair feeling a weight lift from her. That explained quite a bit. If what she suspected of the boss's powers was true, that would also explain why he was spooked. Especially if one of his plans happened to cross paths with Shepard.

_"And do we have any explanation for this yet?" _Lisa's smile turned into a smirk. Piggot _hated_ being ignorant of what was going on. Woman was a control freak all the way to her flat, crappy shoes.

_"The only thing that makes sense, at least to them, is that this person is the first human Thinker Trump. Tentatively classed Twelve because their ability is interfering with _every _thinker power known and in service. At least when they are directed at them, their activities, their whereabouts, ect."_

_"You don't sound convinced." _Neither was Piggot, Lisa thought. It showed in her next question. _"Surely they can find something. Unless this person is a hermit, there must be someone who knows something! Someone has to know why this person has left a total of fifty dead in my city. I am not going to label this unknown cape with a high level trump rating just because they are too lazy to find answers."_

Lisa watched Armsmaster shake his head. The first movement since he entered her office. _"First, we can't definitely link any of these incidents to any 'one' person or group. As it stands now, the most logical conclusion is that all these incidents are the result of standard infighting among the various villains of the city. It's happened before and would explain why it can't be linked to a single individual. Since, there is _no_ single individual at fault."_

_"Second, if this _is_ the work of one person, that does not necessarily mean he or she is a thinker trump. Unless this person simply sprung from the cosmos fully grown, then yes, there should be people who know who this person is. However, either he or she did spring from ether, or their power would apply to people who know of them as well. Again, this is assuming our thinkers are right, which I am not convinced is the case."_

_"That said, a much more simple explanation is that this person is a stranger class cape. One who is just that good at not leaving clues behind that could give away anything. Suggests someone well trained. Both in their power and in tactics. I stand by my original opinion that we will catch him, or her, the old fashioned way. We will work for it. Everyone makes mistakes. We'll be there when this one does too."_

Lisa shook her head. _No you won't. Not unless he wants you too._

"Anything?" Lisa was so focused on the conversation she jumped in her seat when Brian spoke. She turned to him just as he took a seat next to her at their kitchen table.

"No." Lisa stated closing the laptop. "They can't figure it out either. Whatever, or whoever this is, is messing with their thinkers too, so it's not just me who's flying blind. Armsmaster said the thinkers want to give him a Trump rating. Possibly a stranger."

"And our job tonight? Anything change?"

Lisa frowned. "No. I can get us in, we can get the money and get out without a fuss. No capes on site and we'll be gone long before any get there. Should be easy, but before we get far, something happens. I can't figure out _what_, but something."

He sighed. "I got a bad feeling here. We should call the boss and cancel tonight."

Lisa smiled in sympathy. "Can't, we already said we would. You know we can't back out now. He's never pushed us to do anything, but that doesn't mean he's going to let us off the hook once we're committed."

"Can we just not be where ever you think we're going to run into this chump?" Alec broke into the conversation still not turning from his game.

Lisa shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see it. Half the time getting him to pay attention to 'work' talk was like pulling teeth. The only times they could pull him in to it was like this, when he was distracted by one of his games. "No, because I can't tell _where_. Only that we do. The only reason I know _that_, is because when I try looking for an escape route that we could use to avoid heros, everything distorts. Like the night Lung was going to come for us."

"Shit." Alec cursed as he rampaged through some war torn cityscape.

"Your power still can't confirm if it's trouble or just that we cross paths, right?" Brian asked.

"Yeah." Lisa agreed with a sigh.

"Fuck."

She nodded to Brian's curse. "Yup. Pretty much what I was thinking."

He rose from his seat muttering under his breath while Lisa turned back to her computer. A quick check showed that Piggot was alone in her office so she cut the feed. Instead she pulled out her phone sending a lengthy text message.

If it wasn't for their 'boss' she would have loved this gig. So far being an Undersider had been the best part of her life since she got powers. Then again, if it wasn't for the boss, this 'gig' wouldn't have even existed since he was the one who set this whole thing up.

Her power told her it wasn't going to last much longer though. Eventually he was going to want to move forward with his plans. He was already grating over the fact they couldn't provide the level of services he needed from them as it was. When he finally started pushing them everything was going to change from this easygoing, and fun as fuck lifestyle, to a much more intense regimen. Lisa wasn't sure if she was cool with that, but it wasn't like she had a lot of choice. She knew what would happen to her, or the others, if she tried anything. Of course, what he planned for her was the same thing that he planned to do later anyways. Just happened sooner. The longer she could prolong it, the better their chances of getting out of this in one piece. She just hoped she managed to have enough resources to play when that time came. Or that she didn't get caught before then.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the chime from her phone. Lisa picked it up looking at the short reply.

_XxXExiledXxX_

Sebastian woke. A slow look to the clock face next to the bed notified him it was 1137. As the last remnants of sleep evaporated from his consciousness he went over his checklist for today. Usual routine, prepare food, final checks on gear for Taylor and himself, Gear up, head out.

He extracted himself making for the Head. His unclothed body moved with a willingness that, even after months of getting used to it, still surprised him. Not that he was going to complain, but it definitely highlighted just how much action he'd seen in the years prior. Not that everything about it was perfect, but he found he could handle the inconsistencies by comparison.

Morning necessities completed he entered the shower stall letting the barely tolerable hot water wash over him. He sighed in contentment. He should have gotten that other generator going months ago. If he had he could have had the water purifier and heater going this whole time. So much easier than doing it the way he had been doing.

While he luxuriated in the convenience he allowed his mind to roam once more. It was the small inconsistencies that jarred his attention. Like how he looked now didn't quite match up to old memories of himself when he was this age before. Thinking about it he looked at the floor of the stall. Like how his left pinky toe sat misaligned, sideways. It had obviously been broken far in the past for it to rest comfortably with the pad of the toe laying aside the next in line. He couldn't remember when that happened and had never noticed before the months of his exile, but it was that way now. Or the deep wine red mark that covered part of three ribs just below his right armpit. He definitely didn't remember that being there before.

Then, of course, there were his missing scars, acquired over his military career. Those had been missing long before his exile thanks to whatever Cerberus did to revive him. Still, for some reason he kept half expecting them to be there when he looked. Their absence capturing his attention for a moment before he could dismiss them. When you stacked that up against being seventeen again though, it really didn't mean much. There's a lot a man can deal with for a second chance. Third in his case.

Shower finished, Sebastian toweled himself dry. Eventually his movements carried him to a hatch that ran below his living quarters. He easily descended the ladder into his makeshift gym to get his exercises in. Nothing too strenuous due to his later plans, but enough to get the blood flowing and for a light burn. It was finally Friday, and there were still a few matters to attend to. No need to tire himself out now.

A variety of calisthenics at half his usual reps, stretches and a light jog around the cargo hold followed. A familiar routine from years of service. As usual he allowed his mind to blank out as he maintained his physical fitness.

After some time he slowed to a walk to cool down. A quick look to the clock showed it was nearing 1500. Sebastian nodded. Plenty of time to finish his mental list before he had to start getting ready. After he finished the last lap he scaled the ladder returning above deck. He casually walked through his rough living quarters and into the space he set aside for his various projects.

Taking a seat at his bench he checked over the equipment he assembled for Taylor. Foldable baton, good knife, and a 9mm pistol, just in case. He rechecked the harnesses and holsters for them nodding satisfied everything looked good before moving on to his own gear. Not the magnetic versions he preferred but that project was still a long way to go.

Before he could get to his own gear, the comm chimed letting him know someone sent him a message. Sebastian raised an eyebrow when he noticed it was from Tattletale.

Sebastian snorted as he finished reading it. He sent a short reply before leaning back thinking. If Tattletale was to be believed, and her intelligence hadn't been wrong yet, it was probably for the best he was changing his MO. It was curious however, that she was offering information so freely. She'd been doing that a lot lately now that he thought about it.

"Huh. Well, what's the worst that can happen?" He muttered to himself as he went back to work on the chest plate he'd been making for himself. It wasn't his old armor, but it would do for now.


	12. Southside 4

**Southside 2.4**

When I thought about making my debut as a cape, I can honestly say I never thought it would be like this.

Okay, technically this was my second night out. However, the only people who knew what happened were Sebastian and me. Lung knew of course, but I doubt he was going to sing our praises to the PRT about it.

The drive from where we met on the east side of town to here was weird. Probably because both of us were in full costume. Two obvious unknown capes openly driving through town on a noisy motorcycle tended to draw attention. I held on uncomfortably to Sebas… Renegade. I really needed to keep that straight before I screwed up and outed him.

_Renegade_ seemed to understand and kept the bike in the limits of the roadway so all we got was a few odd looks. We even had a cop follow us for like six miles. Well, it looked to me like he was following us. Renegade didn't seem to care but I was worried. Thankfully he didn't pull us over since I knew I didn't have a license and was pretty sure he didn't either. I'm not sure what we would have done if that guy decided to pull us over, but thankfully we didn't have to find out.

I bet someone was going to comment on it tonight online. I'd be surprised if it didn't happen. Hopefully after this thing was done, it wouldn't be in reference to 'the two idiots who got their assess handed to them by _Uber and Leet._ Check out the steam on it!'

That would fucking suck so much.

As I was jostled again I heard Renegade mumble an apology for hitting another pothole. I clutched tighter to him as he swerved to avoid another one but I could see it wasn't going to be much better going forward. My discomfort had more to do with still not used to riding on a motorcycle. Or tandem. As I looked around I could see how far the docks had fallen in the years since the shipping industry went bust. I could see why Uber and Leet picked this spot for the trade. No one came out here.

I was in my own spider silk costume without the helmet. Too restricting I decided. Probably not the best idea considering Renegade's driving habits but I doubted I could get away with wearing both and not feel claustrophobic. Renegade wore jeans with armored plates strapped to his legs, and some kind of hard vestment. I thought it might have been a Kevlar vest, but it was too rough made for something he would have bought. It didn't seem to hinder him as he easily navigated the shabby street that probably hadn't seen a work crew since business dried up years ago. He did wear the helmet.

I felt a guilty sort of pride that my costume looked better. His was more like what other new capes ended up with when they first started out. Something hodgepodge together. Not exactly silly looking, but not exactly something that gives your rep a kick start. Okay, so I spent a ridiculous amount of time on my costume in the last three months. Enough time that if anyone knew the truth, it was a dead giveaway that I desperately needed a life.

But I had a kick ass costume.

"Remember," Renegades voice said in my ear. "The key to dealing with criminals, even moronic ones, is to look confident. You'd be surprised how much that works. If you act like you have the power to break them in half, you've half convinced them you can." The small earpiece he gave me when he picked me up took a lot of the isolation out of the drive. Being able to plan was a bonus too.

"Right," I responded sarcastically. Not too loud since he did something to it that made it so loud noises wouldn't carry over. "...because it's completely within reason that they should be afraid of a five foot-eleven, one-ten girl, in a silk costume." It was really starting to hit home what we were going to be doing. A small part of me rebelled at putting myself in this situation, but a larger part was excited despite my comment.

He must have picked up on it as he laughed. "That's all I'm saying. Hopefully they won't make us prove it, but if they do, then we'll break them in half for the viewing pleasure of their subscribers. It'll be like shore leave on Omega."

The buildings were becoming more numerous as we continued. Factories giving way to old storage warehouses. I hadn't seen a single person in the last two blocks we traveled. That didn't mean they weren't there, just that they didn't venture out to be seen. "You're way too excited about the possibility of breaking people in half." I stated dryly. "Please remember what we talked about. Besides, I doubt Uber and Leet are looking for trouble."

"Shame though, that's the part I was looking forward to the most." His muttered just loud enough for me to hear. I couldn't help but roll my eyes even as a smile formed on my lips. I was getting to know him well enough to understand this was just his way. There seemed to be very few things that he took seriously and I was willing to bet I didn't want to know what those things were. Or be on the wrong side of it.

Besides, if I was honest with myself, I wouldn't mind kicking the crap out of Uber and Leet. Actually kind of a tradition for most of the heroes and villains in the Bay, but I didn't want them seriously hurt. Hopefully they wouldn't push this to the point where Renegade might be tempted to cross that line.

After another few minutes of driving we finally arrived at the arranged meeting place. Judging by the lights shining through the half boarded up windows, they got here first. As the bike slowed to a stop, I wondered what theme they went with this time. Something flashy by the colors that peaked through the building. I dismounted first trying to rub some feeling back into my legs while Renegade shut down the bike. By the time he dismounted I had reached out to the bugs in the area. The selection was disappointing.

Making do with what I had I sent in a few flies to get a feel of what waited for us. After a moment I reported. "Fourteen."

"Not surprised. It was expected." He responded unconcerned.

"It's going to take a bit for the bugs to get here. I have some, but the rest will take a few minutes." I informed him.

That was one of the biggest drawbacks of my power. I was limited to what was on hand. Right now, that was a lot of cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes. I could sense a lot of spiders in the area, but not many of the useful kind. I would have liked to have had access to more wasps and hornets but that just didn't seem to be my luck tonight. Maybe I should start carrying around my own? My costume wasn't really designed for it but I had my small pack. Still wouldn't give me much to work with but it would let me have some of the more useful ones available should I need them. The only problem I could see was where to store them until I needed them. Couldn't leave them at home… I shook the introspection off as I got my head back into what we were here to do. Looking at the warehouse again I figured barring any kind of bullshit power like I dealt with when I fought Lung, I felt I could make it work.

"We have time." He stated. "I didn't think it a good idea to ride through town armed. Pretty sure the local authorities wouldn't have liked it. Turn around; I'll get you geared up."

I turned to him noticing he was taking a knee right in front of me holding some kind of harness. I almost jumped back.

"Hey, um, what are you doing?" I barely got out as he reached toward me.

As usual he didn't seem fazed. "Getting you equipped. Hold still a moment."

My throat dried up as Renegade started winding the harness through my legs and hips. I was acutely aware of his hands even through my costume. I didn't know what to do with my arms so they hung frozen in the air just above him as I tried really hard not move. Or feel.

I failed.

My voice was embarrassingly unsteady as I tried to reply. "A, armed? You mean, like w, weapons?"

His helmet nodded. I tried not to think how close it was… to me. "The other day you mentioned you wished you had something with a bit more bite when you fought Lung. I doubt we'll have to worry about that kind of thing with these guys, but no soldier goes into a situation with any chance of combat unarmed. At least, not in a squad I'm in. Better prepared than regret it later."

It was an offhand comment I made and I didn't necessarily disagree with him. I tried to control my reactions as his hands held firm, if a bit embarrassingly high on my upper thigh. He tightened that side before moving to the next. He was halfway through securing the other leg before I felt I could ask my next question without embarrassing myself. It was bad enough I was slightly trembling. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Instead of answering me he looked up at me. I bit my lip to stop the idiotic nervous giggle I felt trying to erupt from me. This was so not the time for what I was thinking. "That's not too tight is it? Should be tight enough to be slightly constricting, but nothing that'll stop blood flow or restrict movement."

I shook my head not trusting myself to say anything. "Good." He stated as he went back to it. "I got you a foldable baton, a good combat knife, and a pistol. Personally, I'd rather you used a sub machine gun, pistol, shotgun and maybe a rifle but didn't think you'd go for it. It is a lot of weight and you're not trained for it yet. Maybe later. I had some ideas I wanted to run passed you about a set of hybrid body armor using your materials and my tech that should take care of that though. Your silk would make kick ass ballistic cloth."

"Anyways, gun to your right leg, baton on your left." He stated as he grabbed my hips turning me around so I faced away from him. "Your knife will sit in the small of your back. Since you're right handed, the gun will be in easy draw range with the knife to your off hand. The baton will also make a good off hand weapon. Even if you decide to use either in your primary, it shouldn't slow you down much."

"Gun?" I asked as that caught up to me. It didn't escape me that he wanted me armed enough to take on a third world country but I couldn't seem to bring myself to think about more than one thing at a time.

"Just in case. As I said, better to have one on you and not use it, than need it and don't have it."

"I'm not sure if I'm completely comfortable with this…" I started looking at the warehouse, verifying with my eyes that no one was watching what he was doing. I wasn't sure if I meant the weapons or what he was doing but ran with the next thought that came to mind. "And where did you even get this stuff anyways?"

I felt the harness around my hips tighten getting a slight grunt from me. "Salvage."

_Stolen. _"Right. Stupid of me to ask."

I heard Renegade raise to his feet so I turned around. His helmet kept me from seeing his face but I could hear the amused tone to his voice. "This'll work for now until I can build you better."

Renegade took a moment to retrieve the weapons from the bag on the right side of the bike. Returning a moment later to holster the weapons on me. The pistol wasn't the biggest I've seen, but the knife looked huge. I tried to ignore the added weight. Both physical, and mental.

I watched as he returned to the bike to unstrap the large case. He hadn't told me what was in it, but I figured it was his half of the trade. After a moment to get it free, Renegade easily carried it toward the building.

In the end I decided he was right. It was better to be safe than sorry. My fight with Lung proved there were capes I couldn't handle in a straight fight. Leet was a tinker which meant we could potentially be facing just about anything. Just because I had lethal weaponry, didn't mean I had to use them that way. My bugs were easily just as lethal, but I wasn't trying to use them like that.

The warehouse looked about as bad as everything else in this area. Most of the windows were broken. At some point someone half tried to board them up but did a poor job of it. Paint had faded and creep weed grew everywhere pushing through cracks in the concrete. It was pretty remote, even for a location in the docks. If we did end up in a fight here, at least there wasn't a chance of civilians getting hurt in the crossfire.

Renegade approached a door in the side of the building. An easy pull allowed him to open it and hold it for me. As I entered it was pretty much what I expected to find. Mostly empty aside from a bunch of shipping containers toward the back. Most of the place had been stripped clean over the years, anything left would have been things too big to take, or things bolted to the floor or the building itself.

Uber and Leet stood close to a table that was set in the middle of an open area. Uber's costume was a grey skin tight, circuit board. Glowing neon red lines ran through parts of it. His mask covered his face completely leaving just his eyes visible. Leet was dressed similarly, but his lines were blue. Their henchmen, also identically dressed, had green lines. They didn't have masks, just sort of helmets that left their faces exposed.

I wanted to laugh. I can't believe I was worried. This was classic Uber and Leet. These guys have been around for several years now. As villains went, they were really tame. Every time they went out to do something they mostly chose a different video game theme to impersonate. Sometimes movies, like this, but rarely. I remember watching one of their clips before I got powers, seeing them dressed up as Bowser and Mario breaking into a vault looking for 'coins'. One of the solo heros once took them on and they responded with a Mega Man theme to drive them off. That was back just after I got my powers. I haven't been keeping track of them in the last month or so but I half remembered they went on a rampage stealing cars and beating up hookers some time ago. Things like that.

Apparently, today they decided to go 'Tron' on us. I felt sorry for their henchmen. That _had_ to be uncomfortable for anyone who wasn't a fanatic. I mean, the movie was alright, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't ever see myself doing something like that. As we walked closer I took a look at the faces of the people I could see. Yeah, they looked really uncomfortable.

"What the fuck…" Renegade muttered under his breath. He didn't pause in his stride but his voice told me this was not something he expected, much less recognized.

I replied keeping my voice low so only the headset would pick it up. "I'll explain later."

"This can be _explained_?" Renegade asked disbelievingly as he slightly turned to me .

I tried not to laugh. I tried really hard, but when I replied I could hear how badly I was failing. "Probably not, but I'll try."

As we arrived at the table I managed to calm down enough to continue assessing the area. My bugs scouted the shadows letting me know there wasn't anyone else around. Like I couldn't see them with my eyes if there were, but it was probably a good habit to get into regardless. Movement to my right had me turn slightly to look at one of hanger ons. I almost tripped on my own feet when I saw him. It wasn't until he noticed me looking and turned to fully face me that I recognized him.

I couldn't completely place him at first. Jerry? Or was it Larry? I remembered he worked with dad in the past. Used to be a foreman if I remembered right. One of the people who lost their jobs when the docks shut down and the industry dried up. Mr. Gerry that was it. His eyes locked only for a moment on the goggles of my costume before he lowered them. The Irishman shuffled slightly foot to foot after looking away. He must have been really hard up for an income to work with these guys. Still, if you were going to work with local villains, Uber and Leet weren't a bad choice. At least you didn't have to worry about getting killed.

As Renegade stopped at the table, I amended that thought. _Usually_ didn't have to worry about it. Hopefully nothing would happen. Mr. Gerry was always nice to me the few times I remembered talking to him.

"I don't remember you saying you were bringing anyone with you." Leet asked as his eyes turned to me. His voice was slightly synthesized but I recognized it easily.

"I don't remember asking your permission either. This a problem?" I folded my arms not saying anything, keeping to the script we agreed to earlier. Renegades tone suggested he didn't care if it was a problem or not. "It's not like you didn't bring your own back up."

"Your backup is one person?" Uber asked.

Renegade tiled his helmet slightly to the side. "Good point. Odds do seem a bit one sided. I could wait for a bit if you wanted to call in reinforcements. I'd be good to have something to do while Matriarch deals with those here."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing from what I could see on Uber and Leet's faces. All kinds of surprised and insulted. "Or." Renegade continued. "We can trade."

"You seem fairly confident of the outcome." Leet said.

Renegade shrugged. "You would be too if you saw her put down Lung like a sick animal. So, fight or trade? I'm good with either. Standing here posturing isn't what I had planned for tonight."

Uber looked to Leet nodding slightly. Leet met his eyes for a moment before stepping to the table himself. "You first."

Renegade set the case on the table. By this time my bugs were settling just out of sight but close enough to use if they tried anything. The bugs sitting on the glowing minions told me they relaxed slightly which helped me get a sense of things.

I weighed my options as Renegade opened the case. By far the biggest problem was one of numbers. They had more. One advantage we had was that Leet's henchmen had open helmets. Most of my bugs couldn't do much damage but I was willing to bet that if I swarmed their faces they'd panic. Most people, especially unpowered people, didn't react well to that kind of thing. With that in mind I started massing them close to each of the hanger ons. Due to their costumes I had them group themselves in the darkness above them.

I didn't have many venomous insects to call on but I had a few. I wanted to keep them in reserve for if this went badly so I summoned them to me. With the bright lights from their uniforms I bet their night vision was useless. Like when you're sitting at a campfire. I remember when I was at Summer Camp how everything around it is fine, but once past that, the darkness seemed worse. Keeping that in mind I brought the bugs I selected to the front of the building having them skitter to me keeping to shadows. I made sure they crawled along the backs of my legs to hide themselves in my mostly empty carapace pack. That way they were close if it turned out I needed them.

While I was directing my growing swarm Renegade started talking again. "You brought the power cell I asked for?"

"Here." Leet said as he pulled a small cylindrical thing from a pocket.

Renegade looked at it. I assumed knowingly but it was hard to tell since his helmet kept me from getting more information. "The casing is right. It's charged?"

"Yes."

"Acceptable." From the case Renegade took out a small sphere. He fiddled with it a moment before sliding in what I assumed was the battery. The sphere began to hum slightly.

"You'll need to figure out a way to make it fly, but I'm assuming that won't be a problem for you. Terminal connection?"

Leet picked up a laptop setting it on the table. I watched as Renegade ran a cord from it to the sphere. A moment later Renegade pulled a USB drive from his pocket connecting it to the computer as well. Leet walked around the table to see what he was doing while Renegade began typing. "As I explained before, you're going to need more hardware to get the most out of the drones. From what I've seen from your site your current cameras offer you technologically standard data rates, frame rates, and resolution for the current software and bandwidth availability your clients utilize. The feed is usually grainy or of such poor quality that viewers spend half their time guessing as to what they are seeing. Your older footage was better, but I'm guessing that has more to do with the tech you are using now. What I am uploading will change that."

"First, the codex is unique…" I quickly got lost as Renegade explained. Judging by the looks on the faces of everyone else except for Leet, they were too. Instead of trying to follow along I did my part and kept watch.

Leet asked a few questions which Renegade answered. I concentrated on my bugs. They could move pretty fast when I was directing them. Still, my range was just over two city blocks, and that was a long way for a spider to crawl. Even for me. The time it was taking was starting to get to me so I spent some time experimenting using my fliers to ferry the others. It was easier when I didn't try and micro manage them, just let them do what I wanted on their own. The process sped up dramatically which helped me feel slightly better.

That sorted I turned my attention to the swarms gathering in the building. Or I tried too. My attention kept drifting to Uber and Leet's henchmen. They were looking around bored. A few were whispering to each other. Obviously not interested in the conversation between Renegade and Leet. Though, it was more likely that they just couldn't follow it. Despite what he called his skills, it sounded a lot like what tinker talk read like from the PHO. Dry and impossible to follow unless you were a tinker.

However, the bugs I had on each of them were giving me different information. I had ignored it at first but it was like an itch on your back you couldn't reach. My attention just wouldn't stay away from it.

Could have been the uniforms they were wearing but that didn't feel right. As I paid them more attention I started to notice a few things. They were too tense. The flies on them could feel it. The longer the conversation went the more tense they got. Some of them kept reaching down to the glowing disks they had on their sides. Hands would drift downward to touch them for a moment then move away quickly. Most of the minions kept looking to Uber, then to us, before looking to their fellows. It wasn't just a few of them either. As I watched, they were all doing that. Like they were waiting for something. Anticipating...

A signal.

"I take it that this is acceptable then?" Renegades asked breaking from my spiraling thoughts.

I opened my mouth a bit trying to keep my words as quiet as I could. Thank god for these headsets.

_"Set up."_

"Hell yeah. The cameras we've been using lately suck. This will work perfectly." Leet stated excitedly as he moved around the table to rejoin Uber.

I heard Renegade's reply while Leet was talking. _"Wait for my signal."_

Did he know this was going to happen? If he did why did we go through this whole thing? I held firm to my bugs no longer thinking if I would use them, but knowing it was going to happen in a moment. I noticed that a few of the tron rejects looking at me now. Steadily looking at me. Did I do something that they noticed?

"Glad it passes inspection. Now, your end?" Renegade's voice didn't sound any different than it had before. I couldn't hear anything that sounded like he was anticipating anything.

Leet tilted his head to the side. I bet the smug asshole was smiling. Fucker.

"About that." He stated raising his arm. A weird gauntlet like thing appeared around his arm. "This thing is interesting. Like a tinkers toolkit, computer, and a whole lot of other things I could only guess at all rolled into one. I got a sense for what it did when I made it, but I'll be honest with you, I didn't fully understand how versatile it was until this morning. Your description on its construction gave me a few clues, but using it brought a whole new appreciation for it to the table."

"I'm impressed." Renegade stated. His helmet was fixated on whatever that was around Leet's arm. "I honestly didn't think you could do it. I was half convinced the things I read were bullshit. Well done and with a Savent interface too. A MK Nine or Ten. They were the only ones to use that particular style for the activation grip. Serrice Council makes the best military grade omni-tools. Except that's not a military model. Military models utilize cybernetic implants that soldiers have implanted into their arms. The bracer you made, that's one of Elkoss Combine's works. A Cipher Tool model if I'm not mistaken. Interesting hybrid."

Renegade took a step forward but stopped when Uber pointed some kind of raygun at him. He chuckled. "Yes well, as fascinating as all that shit is, I think we'll just move this along. We happy Leet?"

Leet nodded. "Very." He turned to look at Renegade again. "A little tip new blood. Tinkers don't share their work for a reason. Especially, with villains."

I tried shifting one step to the side but it was enough. All of the minions were holding the glowing discs, whatever they were, and Leet pulled a gun of his own to point at me. "Stay right there."

_"Steady."_ Renegade said. It was quiet enough that it barely came over the headset.

"So," He said louder. "You're going to take the drones, and the omni-tool. Just curious, but why?"

Leet lowered his arm which made the gauntlet disappear. "I can make anything with my power. Even whatever this thing is. I recognize Armsmasters specialty in it, as well as a few others. No idea how you pulled that off or how you even designed this thing or if you stole it from some other tinker. Don't care either. I was going to make one for myself but you set the file to self-delete and scrubbed all mention of it from every source in our network. I've tried to recreate it, but can't. So, I'll just keep this one."

Renegade nodded. "Fair enough. Alright, what's next? I assume you thought that part out since you know we're not going to let this go."

Uber answered. "Option one, you and your little friend are going to 'disappear'. This here," He said shifting the gun slightly. "it's one of Leets interesting projects. Came up with it one night when he couldn't sleep. We've never figured out how it works exactly, but we know what it does. Anything shot with it pixelates, then breaks apart until there is nothing left."

I swallowed. That sounded like a really geeked out and fucked up way to kill someone. More important to our situation though was the fact this was really outside of their usual methods. I mean, these guys barely rated as B listers. High C list sure, B list on a good day. They weren't killers, just idiots.

"Option two," Leet stated. "You two walk over to that container. We lock you in, and go. Inside you'll find a console that, if you beat the high score, will unlock the door. By that time we'll be long gone."

I heard the screech of metal as the door was opened. When I looked I could clearly see the 'console' they set up for us.

Pac-man. They were seriously going to lock us in a shipping container and make us play Pac-man to get out?

Yeah that wasn't going to happen. I wasn't getting locked in a fucking box by anyone again.

"Fuck you! You're not putting me in there. You're going to have to shoot me." I hissed through my clenched teeth calling their bluff.

Uber took careful aim at Renegade while Leet took aim at me. Uber's arm was steady.

I already had my plan for Leet ready. No matter if they were bluffing or not. He was going to regret trying to lock me in a box for the rest of life.

Both seconds of it.

"Last chance." Uber said.

Renegade didn't reply.

"Alright. Have any last words?"

"Yeah. Actually I do." Renegade stated. Even now his voice was still strangely calm. "_Chatika vas Paus_."


	13. Southside 5

Southside 2.5 Edited 1/4/15

I blinked. Leet blinked. Uber blinked. Everyone stood still, waiting.

Nothing happened.

"That," Renegade said wryly as he tilted his helmet gesturing to the camera drones, "would have been a lot more dramatic, had it actually worked."

Leet snorted. "And what was supposed to happen?"

"Well, the first idea was a homemade flash grenade. Ground aluminum, a few things from a local pharmacy. Pretty surprising really what you can do with a few odds and ends."

The omni-tool sprang to life on Leets arm. Everyone looked to him in surprise.

I could hear the smile in Renegade's voice as he continued. "But this idea was more fun. Tali always got a kick out of doing it to Garrus."

A few of henchmen jumped at the computerized feminine voice that started speaking. It's accent was strange. Had a weird perky, slightly echoing, rolling quality to it. I never heard anything like it. "Program: _Chatika vas Paus_; Upload complete. Deploying Combat Drone."

Suddenly some kind of hollow sphere thing appeared. Lines of blue and orange sort of defined itexcept for what I took to be the front. It looked like some kind of lens made up of the bluish colored lines.

It spun around so it 'faced' Uber spitting out what looked like a small bolt of lightning. I was stunned by the speed and accuracy as the arc impacted directly into the uncovered part of Uber's helmet.

And just like that, it was chaos.

Uber screamed in pain. I dove to my right as Leet pulled the trigger. It gave off some kind of loud noise like battleship guns do in space movies where sound isn't supposed to travel. I rolled with my dive commanding my bugs to fall in an insect torrent everywhere. Minions cursed, screamed, and panicked while Renegade laughed.

I heard whatever Leet shot at me sizzle overhead as I rolled away. As I got back to my feet I awkwardly extended the baton to its full length. I didn't spare the time to see if it did what they said it would do. However, Renegade's actions stopped me from doing what I planned to Leet.

"Go for the optics, Chatika!" Renegade commanded still laughing madly. "Go for the optics!" A short rush that ended in a flying tackle carried both him and Leet away from my peripheral vision.

I swallowed thickly fighting the urge to help him. We talked about this being a possibility and I had to trust he could handle his part. Just like he trusted me to handle my end. Besides, before I could have taken a step in that direction I had deal with my own current issue. I watched one of the bigger of Uber's henchmen rush me. He was covered in my bugs doing the best he could to ignore what they were doing to him. As he pulled back his huge arm to swing at me, I acted.

He was half blinded, hurting, and panicked which put all the advantages in my court as I was calm and waiting. My own swing was faster, far more accurate and very effective. I sidestepped putting everything I had into it. I didn't even feel bad as my strike hit him in the chest getting a sickening crunch from the impact. I mean, this guy was huge! Beside, these assholes were going to lock us in a fucking box with nothing but _Pac-Man_ to keep busy for fucks sake. They deserved this, and a whole lot more. I watched as he dropped like a brick letting out a weak wheeze. I turned my attention to the rest of the fight. He wasn't going anywhere.

Keep them on the defensive, Renegade told me yesterday. Keep them guessing, keep them too occupied to think straight until they submit. Renegade's drone, twittering little electric beeps that kinda sounded like a midi file, was still going strong. Floating around the room and randomly blasting anyone brave enough stand. Or try to. Screams trailed in its wake, and those unlucky ones that it missed had the pleasure of dealing with me.

My bugs kept the pressure on them biting and trying to crawl into the costumes of anyone who moved. Anything to keep them on the defense and not rushing Renegade or me. Using the abundant distractions I ran from one target to the next taking swings at anyone standing. For the first few moments of the fight the two of us kept everyone on the ground.

Renegade's fight with Leet was less a fight than a one sided beating. As I wove through the chaos my bugs and the drone created I saw Renegade take the gun from Leet. He spun the weapon expertly in his hand reversing his grip before using it to strike Leet across the head. A casual toss sent it flying far away from the fight. With Leet stunned Renegade didn't have any trouble removing the omni-tool from Leet's arm before equipping it to his own arm.

I turned away noticing Uber climbing to his knees from the last drone attack. He was still holding that ray gun of his so I swung downward with the baton. He screamed as it connected. I watched dispassionately as he rolled onto his back cradling his arm. He deserved so much more for his stupid box idea but I backed off. "We happy Renegade?"

His return chuckle answered me. "Very Matriarch. I think we've overstayed our welcome though."

"Then, I think we should go." I suggested backing toward the exit.

I made it to the door first with Renegade only a few steps behind me. The henchmen were swarmed but unmoving which was what I intended. Most had figured out that if they stayed still the bugs wouldn't bite. I'm sure everyone had the sensation of having a lot of bugs crawling on them at one point or another, but these bugs moved with a human intelligence. They worked together, moving with a purpose instead of mindlessly where instinct directed them. I could only imagine what the experience was like for anyone but me.

I left the building at a run. I doubted we would have much time to make our getaway and I wanted to be long gone before those idiots figured out all the bugs were non-poisonous. I was only half way to the bike when I felt a tug of serious disorientation that confused the hell out of me. For a moment the world seemed to spin. I stumbled almost falling on my face as I couldn't seem to grasp what was up or down. Everything tilted, skewed weirdly. I probably would have fallen if Renegade didn't catch me as I pitched forward.

"Easy now. What's wrong?" He asked concerned.

"Dizzy. Everything's spinning…"

He was quiet a moment as I reeled. "Can you sense what your bugs do?"

"What? Yeah, I can. Not everything, it's too much. Some though…"

"Shit, sorry." Renegade apologized. "Should have warned you but you didn't tell me you could sense things through your bugs. You only mentioned control. Can you let go? If you can that should put you right." He assured me.

I couldn't really, but I could filter those specific bugs out of my I did I immediately everything settled back to right. It helped that I still had some bugs out here in the open to center me. I shook my head. "What the hell did you do?"

"I threw a singularity in the room as I left." I looked to the warehouse. I could see green, red and blue lights crazily spinning about through one of the broken windows like some kind of creepy silent disco. "Basically a gravity well of sorts. Grabs anything not anchored down or too heavy. Flings it about for a while."

"You can create _black holes_?" I asked stunned.

"Singularities." He corrected. He gave me one more look making sure I was steady before he let go of me. "Pretty common use for dark energy by Asari Commandos and humans who undergo Adept Training. Great crowd control technique if you're looking for battlefield dominance, or just looking to buy time." he explained as he climbed onto the bike before kicking it to life.

"I thought we agreed to no life threatening attacks unless necessary?" I half accused as I glared at him.

"What? It's not lethal. Unstable yeah, but not lethal. They'll survive..."

Suddenly the warehouse shook from some kind of explosion. A body shattered the boards over the broken window facing us. It rolled a few times before coming to a stop in the parking area not far from us. It was Mr. Gerry. He didn't move.

I spun to look back at Renegade.

"...probably."

I opened my mouth to say something but the voices in the building grabbed my attention. Renegade revved the bike a couple of times looking at me silently. Waiting.

I climbed on. As we peeled out I turned to look back at Mr. Gerry. Despite the fact we were on opposite sides tonight, I really hoped he was alright.

"We really need to work on our communication skills." I said as we raced into the night. "When I said no killing, that also included not almost killing people too!"

"They'll be fine." Renegade assured me. Or, it would have been assuring if he wasn't chuckling to himself. "I know an asari bartender who used them on rowdy customers all the time. No fatalities unless you count that guy she beat to death with his own spine. Though in all fairness, that wasn't the singularity itself."

"His...own spine?"

"Only happened a few times." Renegade defended. "Made the customers nervous. She's half krogan. Has her father's temper, though from what I heard her mother wasn't exactly the 'little miss homemaker' type."

I rode quietly behind him, just staring at the back of his helmet. After an uncomfortable moment he cleared his throat before he continued. "That was one of those things that's supposed to be wrong, isn't it?"

"Entirely." I answered dryly as I looked back to make sure they weren't following us.

"Sorry." He muttered half halfheartedly.

I sighed. Now _I_ felt bad. I changed topics tabling this for the moment. We'd deal with this later. "You knew it was a trap, didn't you?"

"Pretty sure it would turn out that way." He confirmed.

"Then why go through all that shit? Why didn't we just take them out from the start?"

"Wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. The camera drones would have worked just like I explained had they did keep up their end of things." Renegade explained as we turned the corner taking one of the main roads out of the docks. It was still going to take a while before we were 'in the clear' but at least we were well on our way.

"And the drone? How the hell did you do that?"

My question made him laugh. "I had the upload buried in the camera drone's operational codex. Like Tali, I set it to act like an extranet buoy so it would bypass the omni-tool's firewalls. I figured if Garrus couldn't figure out that exploit, Leet wouldn't. Tali did that to Garrus whenever he pissed her off. Which, seemed to be fairly often. She'd download porn mostly into his omni-tool, though she messed with his load outs a few times too."

"_Porn_?" I couldn't help but ask. I felt my cheeks heating up, but I had to admit that did sound funny.

"Oh yeah, by the terabytes. Some of the things I heard him complaining about during our shuttle drops, scary stuff." He finished with a disturbing chuckle as he turned slightly to me.

I turned forward giving a half chuckle before I gasped. It was stupid but I pointed forward and screamed, "Look out!"

Were it was clear a moment ago, it wasn't now. Renegade snapped his head forward just in time to see what I did.

"Whoa!"

My arm grasped his side in a white knuckle death grip. The bike jerked slightly in his surprise but he didn't lose control. Instead, Renegade jerked his left arm to the side sending the figure that was practically on top of us flying into the building we were passing. It happened so quick I didn't even see what happened to them but I heard the sounds of breaking glass. It wasn't hard to figure it out.

"Was that a fucking clown with a sledgehammer?" He asked me a moment later as we barreled down the road.

"...yeah." My heart was still beating ridiculously fast from the near miss. I looked back as we turned another corner. The only evidence that it wasn't some kind of hallucination was the broken window I saw illuminated by the sole working street light. That and the sledgehammer that bounced along the road.

"What the fuck is wrong with this planet that it's perfectly reasonable for there to be a clown, with a sledgehammer, walking about in the pitch dark of the night taking swings at people?"

I was still looking backward as I answered. "You get used to it. Circus isn't even the weirdest cape in the city."

"Seriously? What the fuck is next? A Goddamn _mime_?"

"What's wrong with mimes?" I asked.

Thanks to the ear pieces we were using I heard Renegade grumbling under his breath about creepy clowns and mimes. Something about how fighting Reapers was more civilized.

"What? I like mimes…" I muttered.

Circus wasn't that hard to identify as far as capes go. She was the only one in the city who used the clown theme. I didn't know much about her. Just some stuff from the Wiki. I knew she was a solo villain. Her powers had something to do with storing things and being able to pull them out of the air. Things like a sledgehammer. She was actually pretty well known for it as she used it to beat the crap out of a lot of capes in the last few months she'd been active.

As I was thinking I turned back again. This time I noticed pursuit. Looks like Uber and Leet decided this wasn't over yet. "Company!"

Renegade turned briefly to look at little mirror on the handlebars. "Huh. Didn't think they had it in them."

Renegade turned to the right taking one of the side alleys between two warehouses. I held on tightly chancing a look behind us. There was no mistaking the half dozen bikes for what they were. They illuminated everything around them as they sped closer. "What the fuck? Tron bikes? Really? Can this get any worse?"

My comment made Renegade laugh again. "You've obviously never been on a Normandy Ground Team Op."

I frowned as I looked at the back of his helmet. We really needed to work on his idea of humor. Deciding not to comment on it for now, I glanced back. "They're gaining!" I warned.

"Are you going to let me kill them now?"

"No!" He sounded way too hopeful about escalating this. That or he was yanking my chain. Both were possible but we had other issues at the moment. "I don't suppose you put anything on the bike that can help us here? Something that would slow them down? Make us go faster?"

"Not even a fare meter!" He laughed.

"A _what_?"

Renegade was still laughing as he cut down a different alley. I had no idea what he was doing it, but we were cutting these corners far faster than I think we should be getting away with. "Sorry, just remembering something from a while back."

As I looked around I noticed we were just about out of the docks. Renegades moves didn't seem to faze our pursuers. "Can we lose them?"

"Doubtful unless you want me to turn around? Didn't you say the docks were full of villains? We can piss off a bunch in the hopes they'll help us with our problem. Someone is bound to get upset about the noise. Maybe the clown found a mime with a bullshit power that'll be willing to lend a hand."

I ignored his barbed comment. There was nothing wrong with mimes. Circus, I was sure, wouldn't target them as much as she would us if we went back. She was known for having a temper when messed with. "Yeah… that's a bad idea. Villains are not known for being the 'Good Samaritan' types."

"Well, then maybe we should change the venue. If the villains won't help us, maybe the heroes will."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" I asked worriedly.

"How about we take this party downtown?" Renegade replied.


	14. Southside 6

**Southside 2.6**

The engine of the bike screamed into the night as we barreled down the road at speeds that should have terrified me. Probably would have if we weren't being chased by several neon glowing bikes being driven by villains looking for payback. As we rocketed down the street I was for once thankful for Renegade's driving habits. Granted, they could only be described as insane, but it was a kind of insanity we needed at the moment.

I smiled behind my mask. Okay, maybe there was something seriously wrong with me, but this was actually getting fun.

"Okay, so your plan is to drive through town hoping the heroes step in. You do realize they're going to try to stop us too right?"

"I'm betting on it." Renegade said confidently.

I kept my grip tight on Renegades sides as he swerved from side to side to avoid one bit of road debris after another. Old trashcans, the bigger of the pot holes, or the occasional broken down car. The red bike behind us mirrored our path. I could see the others fall back a bit not nearly confident enough handling the terrain. They didn't fall back enough for my comfort but every little bit helped.

"I seriously hope your plan doesn't involve playing the misunderstood victim being chased by bad guys. I mean, we rode here in costume! Going back into town with Uber and Leet chasing us isn't going to help our case. If anything, it's likely to get someone seriously hurt. People like civilians. I got a better idea."

"Outstanding!" He said with a laugh. "I love ideas!"

As Renegade cut down a side street I knew for sure he was using his power somehow. As I followed his lead and leaned with him I felt a gentle pressure on my whole body. The turn was the sharpest yet with both of us leaning far enough to practically be lying down. So weird, it felt heavier at my feet than it did at my shoulders. That, and once I started concentrating on it I could feel it shift about in perfect sequence to how we were positioned on the bike or how it moved. Compared to the drive up to Captains Hill, I didn't feel half the uneasiness.

As Renegade brought us upright I turned backward. The red tron bike cut the same corner we did a moment ago. It must have been Uber. I doubted a motocross expert could have cut that corner any better.

"Damn, he's good. He handles that thing like Joker did the Normandy. That's not a good thing for us; he's way better a pilot than I am." Renegade observed.

The next in line drove a green one. Whoever it was wasn't anywhere near as good as Uber as he plowed into the building at the corner. The bike exploded in a flash of color and a sickening crash. I winced at the scene. I doubted he was walking away from that one. I really hoped Uber and Leet took care of their people. For that guys sake. The other four got around the corner without crashing, though not as well as Uber. At least they didn't crash, though that would have made our escape a lot easier. "According to the Wiki that's Uber's power . He can master anything with it. Shooting, driving, computers, anything."

"That's fucking versatile. Damn it. You know; chases I normally get into usually end up with burning vehicles and dead bodies. Since that's off the table, I would love to hear your idea on how to resolve this situation."

I figured the tron bikes were about a block behind us. As we roared down the narrow street I reached out with my power getting a feel for the area. "How about one of those singularity things? Like at the warehouse?"

There were all kinds of things in the street that it could pick up. At the speeds we were traveling at, even a soda can could throw them off, or better yet, make them stop and change routes to catch us.

"Not without risking a blowout." Renegade answered. I frowned at the slight strain in his voice as he mentioned it.

_That doesn't sound good._ "Blowout?"

I tugged on the right side of his armored body. Taking my direction we cut down that street. Jessup and Campbell, I read from the skewed road sign as it flew past us. No telling how long we were going to keep this up without someone stepping in but I only needed a bit more time for what I had planned. We weren't far now.

"It's kind of like a grand mal seizure, but not nearly as much fun." He explained to my discomfort as we straightened up. "Happens sometimes to biotics who overexert themselves using their abilities. We can only create and maintain so many fields at one time. Depends on how complicated they are and our energy levels. It's taking about all I have to maintain the field around us. You have any idea how hard it is to micromanage a biotic inertial dampening field while also controlling our gravity? How do you think we're making these corners? Sure as hell isn't by any skill of mine. I'm cheating!"

I turned back for a moment. Nope, that wasn't good, but it was telling. I knew he was doing something but this implied the clock was ticking quicker than I thought. I watched Uber gain on us for a moment. It was faster than I was comfortable with. I wouldn't be ready by the time he got close enough to do whatever it was he had planned. The last thing I wanted was to end up like that green tron bike guy. The others were gaining too but not nearly as quickly. Our problem, I knew, was Uber. I tugged on Renegade's left side after a few streets. As we cut the corner I turned forward.

"Blowouts bad. Gotcha. Uber's gaining though, and we need more time to get to where I'm directing you." I turned back to check on how close Uber was. I tightened my grip on Renegade. Looking backward like this was really starting to disorient me. Still, I knew I could make this work. It was just going to be a lot harder without Renegades abilities.

His next comment derailed my thoughts as well as gave me an idea. "Shoot him!"

"You're not going to be happy until we shoot _someone_ tonight, are you?" I asked half frustrated, half amused even as I pulled the pistol from my leg sheath.

"Hey, no one likes getting shot at! If that doesn't spook him, he's a lot more seasoned than I gave him credit for!" Renegade laughed. I felt the field around us shift slightly. Whatever he was doing felt like it glued me to his back and the seat enough to turn backward without feeling like I was going fall. I aimed the pistol but not at Uber directly. I aimed for the front tire. If you could call a glowing, spinning disk of red light a tire.

When I pulled the trigger the kick wasn't what I was expecting but still jarring. Between Renegades moves, my inexperience, and Ubers evasion as he realized what I was going to do, my shot went wide sparking off an unlit light pole.

"You _have _fired a gun before, haven't you?" He asked slightly mockingly as he swerved to avoid something.

I glared at the back of his helmet as I directed the next turn we should take. "No!"

"Wait, seriously?" Renegade asked surprised as we leaned into the next turn.

The buildings in this area were pretty spread out. Mostly just grid like roadways, lots of fences, and old parking lots. It might have been better to keep to tighter confines but this was where we needed to be for my plan. Now, we just needed to get to the factory I had in mind. Thank god for dad and his ramblings about things that went on at work.

I turned and aimed the pistol again. Renegade opened up the throttle. "Just drive straight for that old factory ahead!" I shouted at him as I pulled the trigger again.

I felt him chuckling at me through my left arm that was still wrapped around him. In a way, it was assuring he wasn't as panicked as I felt. Hopefully, this worked and my idea didn't get us killed.

My next three shots didn't do much better. Uber though jerked side to side avoiding them anyways. He didn't know I was a bad shot which still gave me the effect I was looking for. My next shots at least started sparking off the road near him but I knew there was no way I was going to actually pull off a hit like I wanted. Still, the effect was the same. He wasn't gaining as much as he was a moment ago.

I looked down the sight trying to make the next shot count before I pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I debated throwing it at him but doubted that would do much more than what shooting at him did. Instead, I holstered the gun back in its sheath. Thankfully, the factory came into my range, which meant we were finally close enough for what I had in mind.

As my range fell over the factory I bought every insect in there to the door I needed. Dad mentioned a few weeks ago that he found out this place was put on the condemned list because of an infestation. He was upset because at one time, the old paper mill was one of the premier suppliers of high grade paper products on the eastern seaboard. He had a bit of a soft spot for it since it was one of the last factories to close down, which meant it was one of the last suppliers of jobs for his workers. I remember last year when it finally closed down, dad actually cried. Now all there was for his people was fixing up stuff after cape fights.

Tonight though, this factory was going to save us. "Straight forward, the gate's open. Head for loading bays on the right side. Dad mentioned vandals ripped open one of the doors a while back and I know it's open now. Shoot through it and we'll leave by one of the bays on the far side. They sit high up so we'll have a drop once we go through one of them. The ground floor has lots of equipment still around so be careful. Still, we should be able to get through it."

"You've been here before I take it?"

"No, but I have the bugs inside set in a way that I know the layout. Strait in, thirty feet, turn right. Fifty feet, turn left. There's an open bay straight ahead from there. Nothing on the outside of it so we should have plenty of room to jump out if you can keep us from crashing."

"That's good intel. What of our fan club?"

"They won't be following us much longer."

"Oorah!"

The bike shot through the gate with Uber only a few car lengths behind us. Renegade turned to the right, then left as he went around the building. It didn't take long to find the bay dad mentioned. The bike screamed louder than before as Renegade dropped several gears. I felt the bike jerk as it was forced to slow just as we passed the door. I held tightly to Renegade. This was all on him now.

I tried to lean with him as the bike slid. It felt like my stomach didn't so much as clench, as simply shriveled to the size of a pea before crawling into my throat. I held Renegade in a death grip as we more slid than turned the first corner, narrowly avoiding impacting the hulking industrial machine bolted to the floor. I didn't even spare my concentration to look backward as we shot down the path ahead but I knew when Uber entered the building thanks to my bugs.

Just as he did, they attacked. Thousands of insects mobbed him and everyone else who entered the building. As we made the second turn I heard Uber scream in panic as he lost control. I didn't see what happened but I saw a flash of red light that I assumed was Uber wrecking. It was followed by a flash of blue, and several greens.

As we shot out of the bay on the far side I heard more screams and curses. Our jump seemed almost tame compared to the other moves Renegade made tonight. We sailed out of the bay door before we landed in a shower of sparks as the undercarriage of the bike scraped the ground. It was jarring and I honestly think that if we didn't have Renegades power protecting us, we would have ate it right there. Thankfully we didn't. His next turn wasn't nearly as sharp as his others and a bit sloppy but he managed to keep us from wrecking ourselves. I could feel our pursuers were still inside the building but they weren't moving fast anymore. I let my bugs tear into them as we made our getaway from the old factory. I didn't let up until I lost my connection to them as we passed the limits of my range.

I couldn't help it, I laughed. We did it. We got away clean and trashed Uber and Leet. I looked upward seeing one of their flying cameras trying to follow us as best as it could with its little humming bird wings. Still laughing, I flipped it off.

Renegade's turned slightly to see what I was pointing at. Noticing the camera he laughed as well. I expected him to say something but he didn't. Instead he pulled his own pistol and fired once. The camera fell trailing sparks from the sky.

"Show off!" I teased him.

I felt his chuckle through my grip on him. "I think your way of doing things is growing on me. This was a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

The rest of the ride was uneventful. I guess Uber and Leet had enough since we didn't see them again as we left the docks. Renegade took us through a winding route through side streets as we made our way. The drive seemed to pass in a flash compared to how long it took us before. At this time of the night there was little traffic which was a blessing. I know I was relieved when we turned into the dead end alley we met in earlier.

I climbed off first, stumbling slightly as he turned off the headlight. I reached out to my bugs getting a sense of the alley before I spoke. "It's clear."

"Such a handy power. Makes me wish we could have recruited a Collector back in the day." I turned to Sebastian as he took off his helmet. He looked drawn and very pale.

When he spit out a glob of blood I was worried. "Hey, you alright? What's wrong?"

"Nothing I didn't expect. Hemorrhaged something. I'll be fine after a big meal and some rest." He answered easily seemingly unconcerned.

"You don't look alright." I noted still worried.

Sebastian smiled at me. His eyes looked a little glassy. "Just a side effect of overusing my biotics. It's happened before. Dark energy manipulation, especially what I was doing for us earlier, isn't easy. Takes a toll on your body when you abuse it for long stretches like that. I'm actually surprised I was able to keep it going as long as I did without an implant."

I shook my head and sighed. "If I'd known you were hurting yourself we would have done something different." I stated as I moved to the back of the ally. He didn't act like he was hurting, which bothered me a lot. There was no telling how high his pain tolerance was if he ruptured something internally and just shrugged it off. I would have to keep my eye on that in the future. This kind of thing wasn't worth it if he had to hurt himself for us to succeed. Maybe we could plan around it? I found the pack I hid earlier exactly where it was supposed to be. As I picked it up I turned to make my way back to Sebastian. It bore thinking about. Maybe other capes had that problem too? I'd research it later.

"It's fine. Like I said, once I get something to eat and rest, I'll be as good as new." He turned his back to me facing the entrance to the ally as he started taking off his costume.

I checked the area again. Nothing changed so I turned my back to him removing my mask so I could get the rest of my custom off and change. "My power works a lot differently. The only time it hurts me is when I try and see or hear through my bugs. I wish you would have said something earlier."

I heard the sound of several heavy things hitting the ground behind me as I pulled off the top part of my costume. "Well, we'll learn as we work together. Takes a few missions before we can play off each other's talents with ease. I went through this every time I recruited someone new to my squad. Everyone's different. Even two people with biotics are different because each will use them in their own unique way. Experience and time will fix all that, Matriarch."

I nodded to what he was saying as the cool air fell over my exposed skin except where my sports bra clung to me. I reached into the pack at my feet pulling on my sweater before I started taking off my leggings. "I'm still not sold on that for my cape name. Even if it's kinda late now."

"Really? I thought it fit pretty well. Asari Matriarchs are some of the most feared and respected people in the Galaxy. Trust me, I knew several and every Matriarch I met was someone not to be messed with. Even the ones I had to fight." I heard the sound of a zipper and cloth moving. I gulped slightly refusing to acknowledge the blush on my face. This wasn't as embarrassing as it was earlier but it still felt weird to be changing like this.

Instead of commenting on that I kept to the prior topic. "Well, it just doesn't fit me is all. One, I'm not an Asari. Two, no one even knows what an Asari _is_ except for you. What most people are going to take from the name implies I'm some kind of ruler or something. I've not a ruler of any kind. We don't hold territory, we don't have followers, you know? Just doesn't seem to fit me."

I finished pulling off the lower half of my costume leaving me in just my boxer shorts from the waist down. I quickly pulled out my jeans and stuffed my costume and the harness into my pack as I finished dressing. Sebastian must have already finished as I didn't hear anything except his voice behind me.

"I don't know about that. No, we don't have any troops of our own, nor do we hold territory like the other gangs in the city. But, you rule absolutely over your bugs. You're like a Rachni Queen dealing with her drones that way. That's formidable. I hated fighting the Rachni almost as much as Tali did. Just for different reasons. She was afraid of spiders, which I never understood since she lived her whole life in an environmental suit. I mean, okay, yeah, Rachni drones _could_ bite through it, but seriously, how many other spiders could? I always wondered about that but she wouldn't talk about it. Made me wonder what kind of spiders were on the flotilla."

"Anyways, point is, fighting Rachni wasn't a lot of fun. People here aren't going to like fighting you any better. I'll grant you that we're new faces for now, but Matriarch is a name that you can grow into. Mark my words, by this time next year, the name will fit."

"If you say so." I mumbled still not convinced. I buttoned my jeans and finished zipping them up before I slipped my bare feet into my shoes.

"I do. Doesn't matter if you go by Hebert, Taylor, Matriarch, or Bug Girl. It's not the name, it's the events behind the name that people learn to respect, fear, or admire. Our actions, successes or failures will add weight to our names in time."

Finished dressing I put on my glasses as I turned around to see Sebastian facing away with his arms behind his back. His eyes looked to the mouth of the alley we were hiding in keeping watch. "All done."

He turned slightly smiling wanly. He really looked exhausted. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He nodded easily. "I'm fine, don't worry so much. It's getting really late. I was wondering if you wanted to crash at my place or would you rather I took you to yours? Just wondering as mine is closer and the buses stopped running several hours ago."

"Oh, um…"_ Stupid blush…._ I thought as I felt my cheeks heat up. "Probably take me home. Pretty sure dad would freak if I didn't make it home at some point tonight. I'm probably in for it as it is."

"Alright." He didn't argue as he threw his leg over the bike to kick it to life. I pulled on my backpack and removed my glasses. Once I had Sebastian's spare helmet on I replaced them before I climbed on back letting him back the bike out of the alley.

"Don't suppose there's anything I can do to help with the blow back? My fault you're out so late."

"Not really…" I muttered. "Dad… has his own thoughts on what I've been getting up to. You're not exactly the person to alleviate it. Not sure he would believe it anyways."

"Alright, if you're sure."

"Yeah, it's complicated." I muttered not really wanting to talk about it.

"I understand. We all have ghosts we'd rather not disturb. I'll not pry."

"Thanks."

_So awkward_, I thought. And the night had gone so well too. It was kind of depressing to have it end like this after everything that happened. I sighed. _Maybe I should stay at Sebastian's..._

I shook my head. That was a bad idea. Not that I didn't trust Sebastian to be a gentleman, or that I thought he had ulterior motives for the invite, but dad really would freak. Better to just face the music, sort of, and deal with it now. The drive through town passed as I prepared myself for getting caught. Judging by how he's been acting lately I didn't think I would be able to get away with sneaking back in. I bet he was sitting at the kitchen table, just waiting. Yeah, Sebastian's place was looking better and better as the miles ticked down and we got closer to my house.

I stuck with the plan though and we arrived. I debated having him drop me off a block down the road but as my house fell in my range I knew dad was up. Up and pacing in the living room.

"Fuck." I muttered.

Sebastian turned slightly to me but with his helmet on I couldn't read his expression. "Dad's awake and waiting for me."

He didn't say anything as he turned forward. It didn't take long for him to park the bike in my driveway.

Let it be known, motorcycles do not make the stealthiest of vehicles. Dad was at the back door before Sebastian could even finish parking. Through the dark visor of the helmet I could see the relief in his face that I was home and apparently fine.

And disappointment. I hunched a bit lower in my seat feeling guilty. I climbed off the back of the bike taking off the helmet.

As I put my glasses back on and secured the helmet to the seat I heard his disappointment as he spoke. "Taylor…"

"Sorry Mr. Hebert. It was my fault."

I turned to Sebastian. His helmet was off, hanging from his hand as he addressed my dad. His eyes were locked on my dad's. I wouldn't call them exactly challenging, but it wasn't the look a normal teen would give to the parent of one of his friends. Or girlfriend as far as my dad was concerned.

Dad didn't see the same thing I did, or didn't care. "Sebastian I take it? Taylor's mentioned you."

"Dad." Disappointment at me was one thing, but directing it at Sebastian wasn't going to fly.

"Shepard." Sebastian was completely unfazed by my father's tone. Considering some of the things I knew of him, that really shouldn't have surprised me. "I prefer Shepard."

"You prefer to go by your last name?" Dad asked.

Sebastian nodded. "Never was very fond of my first name, sir."

I butted in before dad did something to escalate this. "I'll see you later, Sebastian."

He nodded still keeping his eyes on my dad. "Alright. I'll be at _work_ for the next few days, but I should be easily reached."

"A bit young to be working regularly. What do you do exactly Mr. Shepard?"

I wanted to groan at the smirk that appeared on his face. "Salvage. That's what led us to be so late. Taylor was helping me with one of my salvage runs. Lost track of time."

I decided to put a stop to this when I saw my dad's frown. This was getting all kinds of out of hand. "My choice, Dad."

Both of them turned to me. Dad with a pained expression and Sebastian with a slightly confused one. I grimaced knowing how he was going to take this but I didn't see any other way to defuse the situation. "My choice."

"Taylor, I understand what you're saying but…"

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly. "Do you really want to have this conversation, Dad? _Now_?"

I winced at the defeated expression on his face as he seemed to deflate. "No, you're right. I'm sorry. Just… we _will_ talk about this though?"

I nodded curtly. I didn't want too, _never_ would be a good time for that conversation, but I was going to have to run with something if I wanted to keep going out in costume with Sebastian. This wasn't ideal, but I'd figure out something.

Dad nodded avoiding looking at Sebastian as he turned back into the house.

"Okay, I don't think I completely understand what that was about."

I turned from the door to Sebastian. The knowing smile on his face told me all I needed to know. I tagged dad with one of the flies in the house so I could follow his movements. He moved to the living room and took a seat on the couch. "No, I think you understand _exactly_ what that was about." I muttered as I took off my back pack. Keeping part of my mind on my connection to the fly on dad, as well as every other person in my range, just to make sure no one else was watching as I opened the pack.

"I think it would be better if there was no misunderstanding." Sebastian stated.

I felt my blush increase. "I hate you."

No one was watching so I took out the weapons Sebastian gave me earlier and put them in the saddle bag on the bike. Getting caught with my costume was one thing, but I'd never be able to explain what I was doing with a gun, much less where I got it from. Should have done that back in the alley. I heard Sebastian chuckle before he replied. "Well, misunderstandings can be tragic. I'm not fond of tragedies."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" I asked as I covered the weapons up with part of Sebastian's costume and closed the bag.

"Nope." He replied jovially.

I sighed as I rose to my feet. By now I imagine my blush covered my whole face. I took a deep breath. "Dad thinks...we're… sort of in a relationship."

"Ah-huh. I'm thinking that look I got was a bit more than just a father unhappy at a potential suitor."

I looked to the sky to avoid looking at Sebastian. "This is embarrassing, can we please just drop it?"

I didn't have to look to see the smile on his face. I could hear it in his voice. "Come on, how bad can it be?"

"I hate you so much right now."

"I'm just saying, if you've given me a cover and I don't know the details I'll make a mistake that will get us found out." He reasoned.

For just a moment I considered calling my spiders to me. I bet a few black widows would wipe that smug grin off his face. I closed my eyes letting that thought go as my embarrassment grew. "It's just what he thinks, Sebastian. I didn't encourage it."

"Encourage...what?"

"He thinks were having _sex_! There, happy?" I snapped at him.

If anything his grin grew. "Obviously not as happy as my cover identity is." I closed my eyes with a groan covering my face with my hands while he laughed at me.

I heard movement and stiffened as I felt him hug me. He was still chuckling which didn't endear him to me very much at this moment. "Sorry, couldn't resist. You're just so easy to tease."

"I'm going to fucking hurt you for this. Just...can we drop this now?" I asked in a slight whine. "It's bad enough I have to deal with Dad thinking like that, I don't need you pushing my buttons…"

"Alright. No more teasing, I promise."

"Thank you."

I leaned away looking upward. Sebastian's face was very close and his eyes bore into mine. I blinked several times as my blush increased. I sensed my dad getting up from the couch. Probably wondering what was taking me so long. He walked into the kitchen where he stopped by the sink. The window there would give him a perfect view of us. "Um… My dad's watching us..."

Sebastian's face lowered to mine. I felt my hands become fists clutching his shirt as his lips just passed mine resting along my cheek.

"Just selling your cover." My breath hitched as my eyes widened.

He leaned away after a moment. That stupid smug roguish grin on his face that made me want to smack him as much as I wished he really did kiss me.

"Typically," Sebastian half whispered to me. "...after a mission we debrief. Go over things that went right, or went wrong. Let me know when you're free and we'll do that as well as go over some other things. Alright?"

"...Okay."

My heart beat fast in my chest as he climbed back on the bike. I stood there flustered as he backed up, then left with a jaunty wave. I shook myself out of my stupor turning back to the house. The mixed signals I kept getting from him were driving me crazy. Maybe I should do something about that? He didn't seem upset over my dad's misunderstanding, but he wasn't exactly encouraging me either.

Relationships were so confusing. Was I a friend? Was he interested? Were we just teammates?

Confusing or not, I had to admit, this sure beat what my life was like before I met him. Overall, not a bad night at all, I thought as I opened the door with silly grin on my face.


	15. Camera One 1

***Authors Note: Yeah, not a big fan of doing these at the beginning of a chapter, but thought I would state that reviews are appreciated. This story, as it stands at this post, is currently 221k words and just about 470 pages. I'm posting as I review content and put in corrections. Content should appear fairly quickly as I do so. That said, thoughts about the story, anything you liked or that caught your eye, always appreciated as it helps me as a writer to know what worked, and what didn't.

That said, on with the story...

**Camera One 3.1**

The night had claimed the city skyline hours ago. Not a lot of cloud cover but the lights of the city still made it hard to see the stars above us. As we planned earlier, Sebastian had picked me up just before dusk. The rooftop we were using gave us an interesting view over the area which made it a nice place to have dinner, even if it was on the outskirts of the docks.

I stabbed my fork into the last of the flank steak at the bottom of the small takeout box. It was cunningly hidden below the last of the peppers. Not cunningly enough, I thought stabbing both.

"So, you didn't like it?" I asked before I took the bite. I wouldn't go so far as to call our conversation awkward, but a bit uncomfortable wouldn't be too far out there. However, it was hard to get upset over it thanks to the excellent take out from Niramanju that Sebastian got for us tonight. They made the best, well everything, in the city.

"Well, not really, to be honest. It was okay." Sebastian replied uncomfortably. An expression I only ever seemed to see on him when he was trying to be 'normal', as he put it. In the last week I think I've seen that expression on his face more than any other. A part of me still thought it was funny as hell that he was looking to me, of all people, to find out what normal was. Like I was any kind of role model in that regard.

I noticed him look up at me from his own food. "It's just…"

"It's alright." I muttered as I switched out the empty box for one that had fried rice.

"No, it's not. You put a lot of effort into that. Still can't figure out how you got your dad to be okay with me coming over, much less for him to be okay with me being there while he wasn't. I was pretty sure he hated me."

"It really wasn't that difficult, and he doesn't hate you." I said. Not that either of us actually believed that or anything. I was still half of the opinion he might get some of the dock workers he knew to 'visit' Sebastian somewhere. Probably would if he knew where to find him on any given day. Despite my dad's self-nerdy assessment, he had quite the temper when he felt strongly about something. I mean, you didn't get to be a Union Department Head, or earn the respect of people like dock workers by not knowing a few things. I hope he didn't try anything. For the whoever he got involved sake. Sebastian wasn't exactly the 'wound them and leave them' type. Mr. Gerry was proof enough for that, though I heard he'd make a full recovery in time. I shook my head casting those thoughts to the side as I returned to the conversation. "Maybe you're just used to better?"

"Not exactly. It, well, it just didn't seem to be my thing I guess. It couldn't have been that enjoyable for you."

"Well," I started as I stirred the rice. "I heard it's not exactly for everyone. I liked it."

He must have heard something in my voice as he responded. "Sorry for ruining it for you."

"You didn't ruin anything." I tried to assure him. "It's not like you're the only person ever to not like it."

I saw him nod but he waited until he finished chewing to talk. "I just don't see the appeal. The way you talked about it, I was under the impression it would have been better than it was. Not that I have a lot of experience with that sort of thing. For years it's been one fight after another. The Alliance always had an operation for a guy with my talents. Then I got spaced and ended up as a slab of meat on a science table. More war after I was healed. I've sort of been too preoccupied to experiment with things like that."

I winced. Sebastian still hasn't told me a lot about the details in his past but over the last week he mentioned a few things. Usually like that, just thrown out there like it didn't mean anything to him. It was seriously unnerving how his callousness about most people even applied to himself.

Still, I didn't push. I'll let him tell me in his own time. Instead I shrugged to his comment before swallowing my own mouthful. "Well, I appreciate you sitting through it anyways."

He nodded as he cleared a few empty boxes off our makeshift table before adding a few full ones from the takeout bag. I perked up. "It's entirely possible that musicals are just not my thing. The only other one I've seen was 'Fleet and Flotilla', which Tali made me watch. There were aspects I liked, but overall not so much. Quarian singing is pretty good, but let me tell you something, Turian vocal cords were not designed for it. Great battle scenes though."

"I'll have to take your word for it." I said.

As I started checking to see what was in the new boxes, Sebastian changed topics on me. "So, given any thought about what I said yesterday?"

I looked up from the box of lo mien I opened. "Some. I'm still not sure I'm cool with it though."

Sebastian opened one of the boxes I hadn't checked yet. He stabbed the contents before carefully asking, "Are you still upset over the posts on Parahumans Online?"

"Yeah." I sighed before I mumbled trying not to eye the box he had. "Mongolian Beef would help though."

A quick look showed him watching me. His amusement at my antics evident in his eyes. It worked though as after a moment he passed me the box. I quickly started in on it before he changed his mind. So good.

"You shouldn't let what people think dictate your actions. They're going to believe whatever they want to believe. More often than not even in the face of overwhelming evidence. That's just the nature of organics. Besides, we came out looking good for the most part."

I looked him in the eyes as I carefully replied. "They think we're super villains. I fail to see how that is in any way a 'good' thing."

"We won, they lost. I'm not seeing a bad side here."

I sighed. "Now you're just doing that to aggravate me." His smile didn't help change my opinion on this any. "I wanted to be a cape so I could help people. Taking a negative, like how I got my powers, and turning it into a positive. Being labeled a villain sort of defeats that point."

Sebastian's tone shifted enough for me to catch it. "You mentioned something like that before but you never specified. I'll admit I'm curious. I mean, I was born a biotic. For all the other biotics, aside from the asari, they usually manifested biotic talents after eezo exposure, so I'm guessing there's something like that here too?"

"Sort of…" I mumbled.

"You don't have to explain if it's really personal."

I sat quietly thinking. I didn't really want to talk about it but also sort of wanted too. I battled back and forth a bit in my head before I caved. He'd been sharing a lot of personal stuff with me so I guess it was only fair. "I don't know a lot about how most people get their powers. Just some stuff I've read online. Usual theme is something really bad happens that triggers them. Makes them work."

Sebastian didn't reply except to nod. "For me, it was something that happened at school. Bad enough I ended up in a mental hospital for a week…"

I was interrupted by a chiming noise. On the back of Sebastian's right hand an orange light was flashing. "Damn. Didn't realize it was that time already. We can do this another night…"

"No." I stopped him. "No, it's fine."

In a way it as a relief. Thinking, much less talking about that stuff put me in the wrong headspace anyways. Sebastian nodded but I noted the look of concern on his face before he put on his helmet. As he was doing that I took off my glasses making sure my earpiece was in place before putting on my own mask.

From the duffel sitting next to our makeshift table I took out a trash bag and started cleaning up. It didn't take long to gather up our drinks or the leftover food and get it put away. As I finished Renegade was just about done shutting down the tinker blind he made.

From inside the blind it didn't look like it was doing anything. However, it rendered everything inside it invisible. Well, 'cloaked' was the term he used. Along with about fifteen minutes of explanations on how it worked and what it worked on. Still, it sounded like invisibility to me.

As I watched him I couldn't help be impressed. And a bit envious. Tinkers where such bullshit. Renegade, no matter what he called his knowledge, did not change my opinion on that despite the fact he said he could teach me if I wanted to learn how to be an engineer like was. The device he set up earlier, and which he was kneeling next to now, sat not far from us. It looked like a two foot long cylinder attached to a tripod standing about four foot tall. I watched he typed something on his omni-tool. After a moment the thing made a few computer noises before a burst of static flickered around us. It started compacting down until it was only about a foot long.

Once it was done compacting, which I still got a kick out of watching, he placed it at the small of his back where it latched on somehow. I didn't inquire. Pretty sure I wouldn't understand it anyways.

"Don't forget your armor." He reminded me as he set his about equipping his.

I nodded holding my arm out in front of me like he did. I took me a moment to get my hand set right before my own omni-tool sprang to life.

_Tinkers might be bullshit, but friendly tinkers rocked_, I thought with a smile on my face.

The bracer he made for me was lighter than I would have thought considering what it could do. It encompassed my forearm from just before my wrist ending just before my elbow. He did something to my gloves that allowed me to use the holographic interface and between those two things I had access to my very own bit of tinker tech. It didn't do everything his did, which he explained as due more to the fact that would take a while to build, but it did a lot of stuff. Had a flashlight, acted as a hub for our communications, had two 'loadouts', and was connected to his own personal computer network.

As I looked at the still unfamiliar display trying to remember the sequence he showed me, I also took note of how the bracer looked. It was gun metal black. The casing looked like it was crawling in various bugs which blended with my costume really well. An extra detail that still made me smile. It wasn't eye catching enough that I think our opponents will immediately figure out what it was, but enough so that I wouldn't be able to use it outside of our cape stuff. Still, hella badass. After a few moments I managed to get it right and the holographic representation of the tech armor field sprang to life around me. Another awesome addition to my costume.

The armor was an electric teal with a dark orange/gold edge. Shoulder guards, a chest plate as well as forearm and thigh plates materialized over me, in contrast to the blue/purple versions over him. Aside from the grey chilton armor panels I made into my armor, it was pretty featureless black. The holographic overlay set a few inches away from my body giving me a bulkier look which I liked a lot. The shoulder guards were rounded with the various panels strait over those sections.

The chest piece accentuated a femininity I didn't have. When I questioned it he shrugged it off saying it never occurred to him to alter the standard program that he learned. It made me wonder what the prerequisite for women who joined the Alliance was since my armor gave the impression I was at least two cup sizes bigger than I actually possessed. I couldn't see it but Renegade also managed to replicate the mandible-esque design along my jaw with panels on the sides and top of my head. Overall, the holographic display gave me a spectral armored look that left no doubt to my femininity, as well as adding to my theme.

I was pretty sure my silk costume made me bullet proof, but with this I knew I was. At least to an extent. Renegade warned me that the field would stop a lot, just about anything he knew of until it failed. And that was the problem, if it ever failed, I wouldn't be able to activate it again until he powered up my omni-tool. He was still lacking a proper power source and was using his own abilities to sort of power it somehow. He explained something about a dark energy power cell of sorts that duplicated element zero. I didn't understand a lot of it. Still, it was one extra layer of protection I didn't have before and something that I doubt any of our opposition would likely be able to counter. For a while anyways.

Unless we got seriously unlucky. I didn't continue that line of thought. That kind of thinking was dangerous for a lot of reasons. Especially in a city like Brockton Bay.

"Are you breaching this time or am I?" He asked me.

I turned noticing he was holding the bandolier of grenades he came up with. "You. I did it yesterday."

Renegade nodded handing it to me. I took a moment to secure it to my body making sure it wasn't loose and didn't get in my way for when we got active. After he slung the duffel over his shoulder we made our way to the roof access door which was our only way into the complex below us.

"I still think we should have shotguns for this. How many inside again?"

"Six." I answered immediately. I'd been monitoring them.

"That's two more than when we arrived."

"None of them have powers. They're just normal gang members."

"I still think we should have shotguns." He grumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "The flash bang you made worked perfectly the last two we hit. Between our powers and the flash bang there really isn't a need for shotguns. It's overkill."

"You say that like that's a bad thing." He argued. "It's just S.O.P when clearing a hostile room. Besides, shotguns are intimidating. Stick a barrel of one into a hostage's face, and he knows to do as he is told. Cuts down on the hero factor."

I snorted at his argument. "I doubt we have to worry about these guys being heroic."

"Okay, how about the stupid factor?"

"Nothing accounts for that." I joked.

I heard him sigh, though I knew he was amused. "True enough."

Ever since we arrived I'd been positioning my bugs where I wanted them. A sizable portion waited in the walls of the apartment we were hitting but I had a lot on the floors above and below it as well.

"So, going back to my idea. I think we should at least hear her out." Renegade said.

I opened the door to our floor noting no one was there to see us. Not that I was surprised. The local gang imposed their own curfew. The residents of this tenement avoided this floor whenever possible, unless they were unlucky enough to live on it. One of the reasons we waited so long before coming down here. Should cut down on civilians getting caught in the crossfire if something were to go wrong. "Look how the trade with Uber and Leet went. What makes you think it's going to go any different this time?"

"Nothing firm. Just a gut feeling that she's on the level. Can't hurt to listen to what she has to say though eh?"

"Yes it can." I didn't need to look at the apartment numbers as I led the way. I knew where we were going. "We know nothing about her. I tried looking her up on the PHO and got nothing. At least with Uber and Leet I had an understanding of their powers. We don't know anything about hers."

Renegade was quiet until we were at our destination. "Does your reluctance have anything to do with the fact she's a villain?"

I turned. "That actually has a lot to do with it."

"If it makes a difference, she's not that bad for a villain. I've worked with a lot worse."

"Can we talk about this later? We're here."

He nodded not commenting on it further. Instead he faced the door. "Just like we've been doing all week. Breach in ten."


	16. Camera One 2

**Camera One 3.2**

I nodded pulling two of the canisters from the bandoleer. As I pressed the buttons on top I sent a command to my bugs that I wasn't saving for this apartment. In all of the apartments around us, including the ones above and below this floor they moved over the doors. Just massing over them. I doubted anyone was going to go near them now so that should keep the halls clear of non-combatants.

Just as my silent count hit ten, Renegade reared back kicking the door in. His power erupted in a smoky, almost living mist around his leg adding forces I didn't understand but could see as the door flew off its hinges. Once it landed inside I threw the canisters into the room then put my back to the side of the door frame just as Renegade mirrored my actions on the other side. My aim was perfect as the bug I aimed for sensed them hitting near it.

Two quick explosions of sound and light burst from inside. The startled and surprised voices changed to fear and pain as the flash bangs did their work. My bugs began pouring into the room from wall outlets, cracks, windows and vents. The rest preceded us through the front door as I entered with Renegade only a step behind me.

The room itself wasn't much. Entertainment center with some multiplayer game on a big TV. Couch sitting in front of it with a coffee table between. I took note of the powder lines on the glass surface as well as various other drugs in different states of readiness. I passed over it all at a glance. Every place we'd hit in the last week was pretty much the same. Instead I took in the three guys moaning and rolling on the ground. I walked past them heading over to their gaming system turning it off which cut down on half the noise in the room.

"Two others in the bedroom, one in the bathroom." I informed Renegade.

"I'll get them." Renegade stated as he tossed the duffel to the ground next to me. As it landed the top opened up allowing my collection of black widows, brown recluses, and wasps to flood out adding to my arsenal. All bugs too big to easily navigate the walls of the building. I moved them to the center of the room over the three there as he walked away to get the others.

Before he got more than half way the bathroom door burst open. The one I sensed in there came flying out. He was older than me by several years and had that drawn expression I was learning to associate with drug addicts. He had the sides of his head shaved but the rest was long enough to tie in back. I would have felt bad for him since he was dripping wet wearing only his briefs and t-shirt, but any sympathy I had fled when he started yelling and waving a huge handgun.

"Die you motherfuckers!"

It happened faster than I could react. The gun went off in a loud boom sounding more like a cannon than a pistol. He hit Renegade several times in the chest before the gun was empty leaving only the clicks of the trigger being pulled.

"Idiot." I heard Renegade mutter as he took two steps grabbing the gunmen by his shirt. I winced at the sound of the impact as Renegade's helmet smashed into his assailant's face. The guy's legs went boneless as he collapsed. Renegade dead lifted him with one hand casually tossing him into the living room with the other three before heading once again to the bedroom.

I swarmed him in bugs after he landed. "My bugs are very poisonous. The brown recluse especially. Even just one bite will cause your flesh to rot. Keep that in mind as you think about your situation. However, my spiders won't bite if you remain where you are. Quietly."

All four immediately stopped moving. From the bedroom I heard a girl sobbing. I turned as Renegade walked back into the living room with the last two. The guy was shaking like a leaf but my attention was on the half-dressed girl. She looked familiar but I couldn't place her. She was about my age, maybe she went to Winslow? That was about the only place I ever saw other people my age on a regular basis.

After a moment I dismissed that detail as unimportant. She wasn't one of the hanger on's of my tormentors which meant she was just some random face at school. I doubted this was going to be the last time I found people from there mixed up in things like this. Renegade was holding them both by the backs of their necks as he frog marched them toward me. A firm shove forced both to the ground with the others.

I stood above them trying to project confidence. "Lay on your stomachs with your hands behind your heads. Be still and quiet or I'll have my bugs bite you. How long I let them, depends on how much you annoy me."

I watched as they did as instructed. Renegade nodded once before he went to the kitchen starting to rifle through their cabinets. I reached behind me taking out several zip ties from my carapace pack keeping my eye on our prisoners. As I tied their hands behind their backs I could hear Renegade just throwing things around as he searched.

The lone girl was still crying to herself but I felt no shame as I tied her hands together. It wasn't that I couldn't emphasize with her decision to go this route. Hell, I couldn't say_ I_ wouldn't have if I hadn't got powers. I just had little love for addicts in general. And that was the slippery slope that was in essence all drugs. The addiction that took you over so you would do anything for your next fix. Maybe she would see this as the wakeup call she needed to get out of this life before she lost it. Hopeful thinking I knew, but weirder things have happened.

Renegade's voice broke me from my musing as I started tying up the twitchy guy who was with her in the bedroom. "Found it."

"You could have asked. I knew where it was." I said.

"True, but your power takes all the fun out of searching, Matriarch."

I snorted as I started in on the third. "You just wanted an excuse to trash someone's place."

"Not that they needed help..." I heard him grumble.

His comment got a chuckle out of me. I happened to agree with him but didn't comment further. The way our prisoners cringed had me thinking they didn't appreciate the humor of the situation as much as we did.

"So, I found this vid from Earth Alph we could watch later if you're interested. You did say I could pick the next one."

I rolled my eyes before I looked over to him from the guy I was tying. Renegade was standing by the kitchen table stacking containers of drugs on one side and the money on the other. Was there anything he took seriously? I mean, here we are, in the middle of a raid and he's talking about a movie he wanted to watch. "What's it about?"

"A marine who ends up getting caught up in an intergalactic war with giant bugs. Sounded like it would be fun."

After I finished tying up the last one I stood. I played along if for no other reason than it seemed to irritate our unwilling audience. "I hope you don't mind if I root for the bugs."

"Naturally, but don't be surprised when superior firepower ends up winning in the end." He returned good naturedly.

I chuckled as I walked a few steps before leaning against the wall to keep a better eye on our prisoners. One more drug pusher down. So far we managed to take out two stash houses and three drug pushers this week. We were learning to work together and avoid our powers clashing against the others in the wrong way. Our tactics were getting better and I was learning how to use my powers better with each encounter. Not to mention Renegade was getting funding to make more tinker toys. All in all, not a bad weeks work. Completely worth the sleep I had to sacrifice for doing this on a weekday. Which reminded me, I had school tomorrow too. At least it was Friday. I could get caught up on sleep this weekend.

I felt my mood sour a bit as my thinking continued. Despite all that, I had to admit I was a bit disappointed at how things were going. I was glad that things were going so smoothly, but it was just too easy. I noticed that feeling had been growing these last two days. The excitement of the stakeouts and raids was diminishing quickly being replaced with disappointment.

Renegade's voice broke me from my musing. He finished loading the bag with our spoils and was walking toward me. "What was that?"

I didn't realize I had spoken aloud but repeated my thoughts. "Too easy." I said waving my hand over the room to emphasize my point.

"Fuck you bit-" One of our captives started before Renegade stepped on him.

"Hush, the adults are talking." Renegade said not even bothering to look at the bound addict under his foot. His power started smoking from his foot counterpointed by the sounds of the floor, and the guy groaning from whatever he was doing to him. I looked back up to Renegade to see his helmet directly facing me waiting quietly.

"You're sort of making my point." I started gesturing. "Yeah, this is helping and we did this a lot easier than the cops could have, so I feel good about that. But this, kicking the crap out of these unpowered guys? I kinda feel bad about it. Hell, we beat up that one a few days ago." I said pointing at our captives.

Renegade turned looking a bit surprised. "Which one? The twitchy guy or rat face?"

"Twitchy."

"Was he the one you threw out the window?"

I looked to the ceiling half growing in frustration. Was he ever going to let me forget that? "I didn't 'throw' him out a window, Renegade. He jumped, and it was on the ground floor. Stop making it more dramatic than it was. Besides, how the hell was I supposed to know he was arachnophobic?"

"My versions better." He teased me.

I returned my eyes to his helmet to notice the slight shake of his shoulders. Asshole. "And no. He was the guy I used the Submission Net on."

If anything the shaking of his shoulders was more noticeable. As well as the humor in his voice. "Right, I remember now. He was the poor bastard you tagged to the wall. The one that got electrocuted when the anchor point drilled into the wall outlet before the breaker popped."

I ground my teeth as I tried to defend myself. "You didn't tell me it did that."

"That is sort of what it was designed to do. Pin a captive to a flat surface or wrap them up in the net before delivering a charge to render them unconscious, or at least stunned. Though, I doubt I could create _that_ kind of voltage on demand." His helmet tilted to the side. "Actually, I might be able to, now that I think about it. Probably melt the wire netting though and the damage to the captive would be pretty extreme. Not exactly suited for taking prisoners..."

I wilted slightly. I seriously hope he was teasing me. "Please don't."

He raised his hands upward, but was still half chuckling to himself. "Kidding. Sort of. Yeah, I actually could do it, but that's the kind of thing you do in extreme situations. Now, let's collect our things and let the local authorities know they can pick up these guys. Maybe this time they'll keep Twitchy in jail so you don't have to electrocute him again."

"Asshole." I muttered as I walked to the door with his chuckle following me.

Once in the hallway I activated my omni-tool. I looked at the various input keys for a moment before going into the help screen to figure it out. I heard the door close behind me as I was struggling to work the still unfamiliar computer interface.

"What are you trying to do?" Renegade asked as he leaned over to look at the screen on my arm.

I didn't reply for a moment as I managed to get the message routed the way I wanted too. "Just letting the police know they can pick these guys up. I was just having a hard time remembering how to access that program you made that does that for us."

"Yeah, sorry. I'll work on your interface tonight and get it smoothed out some. Maybe some quick keys?"

"That would help."

He nodded as we walked to the stairwell. Once inside and started on our descent I took command of my bug dispersing them for the moment. After a few floors Renegade broke the silence.

"What's really the issue?"

I sighed. "I just thought we'd be hitting one of the real gangs in the city. Empire Eighty Eight or the Azn Bad Boys. Hell, even the Merchants would be a better match for us than those guys."

"There are supplies we still need to acquire, facilities that we should get in order first, and of course training. But, if this is something you feel you are ready for, okay. However, this ties into what I was talking about earlier about recruiting to our squad."

"She wants to recruit us to _her_ team, Renegade. Her _villain_ team."

"We need allies Matriarch. Even if we don't add them to the squad, she has access to resources we could use. Just, think about it."

I sighed. "Fine, I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask."


	17. Camera One 3

**Camera One 3.3**

The spotter's scope sat on a small tripod in front of him. Sebastian pulled an energy bar from his breast pocket as he leaned away from it thinking. He mulled over what he had witnessed so far, and he had seen more than enough to know he didn't like it. After a moment to gather his thoughts and finish his food, he activated his omni-tool to record. "Jane 2. Five-two, fifty-two, maybe fifty-five kilos. Fair skinned, brown hair, freckles along the bridge of her small nose. Petite. Follower. Direct intervention unnecessary. If leadership is disbanded, not a priority."

He paused long enough to return his eye to the scope. He upgraded the scope just this morning and was glad for it. He zoomed in on the target taking a caption of her face. He'd find her name later. "Jane 1. Five-four, fifty-six, maybe fifty-seven kilos. Fair skinned, sort of pale, red hair, no blemishes. Physically fit. On further observation does not actually lead the squad. Public face. Possibly due to unknown affiliations. Further research is required but no longer considered Top Priority. Will still require a solution. No other status change."

He stopped recording, going back to watching as he took her caption as well. The way she walked wasn't the way normal civilians walked. It was structured, well balanced. Public personality? Possibly. If she was it'd make extranet searches ten times easier.

Sebastian sighed. He hated stakeouts. The slow, almost grinding, gathering of intelligence that took days, months even before anything could be done. In the past, he delegated this chore as much as he could to people more suited to the task, like V.I.'s or drones. Here, he didn't have anyone like that so he dusted off his skills and took the job on himself.

Actually, he hated solo stakeouts. Stakeouts with Taylor were actually pretty fun. Usually takeout from some place she heard of, random comments about the targets. And her fucking powers. Holy shit was that a game changer. She made STG operatives look like amateurs. Sebastian snorted as the image of Kirrahe's face if he was around to see her work. He'd probably sell out the entire Salarian Union for a chance to recruit her.

Sebastian shook his head casting aside that image. The targets moved into the structure so he activated the thermal imager to follow them. Jane One and Jane Two entered one of the rooms pausing at one of the seats for a moment before taking others further back.

His eye twitched. This was the third incident today of them doing that. He pulled away from the scope again. From his pack he took out another energy bar and quickly consumed it. He chased it with a bottle of water keeping his eyes on the structure and his quarry. Those two watched as their activities bore fruit, but it was Jane three he decided to follow. She was in one of the common areas where the storage lockers were. Sebastian frowned. She wasn't in her own locker.

After a moment he activated the recording again, deciding to use this time to compile a few notes. Once he started it again, he pulled his laptop out going over the strange encryption he found earlier.

"Jane Three. Five-Five, Fifty-four maybe fifty-five kilos. Dark skin, dark hair. Athletic. Leader of the squad. Assigned Top Priority. Calculating, cautious. Body languages suggests training. Freelance? Villain? Possibly. However, program code found in the structures surveillance feed suggests something more organized. Only known military organization in the city is the Wards. Conclusions, problematic."

He looked up from the code he was studying looking through the scope again. She moved on and it took him a moment to find her again. Walls of the structure where what? Maybe a quarter of a meter thick? Maybe half? No more than one for sure. He nodded to that thought. If he counted the building's inner walls, one meter was about right. Wall composition looked like drywall, wood, and brick. Hard to tell from here and he couldn't risk getting closer for a scan without the structure's surveillance getting a look at him. Specs would be on public file with the local government. He figured the distance from his post was just over five hundred meters. Tungsten would cut through that like thrown rock through paper.

He'd scored head shots on harder targets.

"Observation: Social Hierarchy. Apparently restricted to local environment. No apparent grand agenda beyond dominance in this limited sphere of influence. Squad aggression not limited to the charge, but their focus is unnervingly aimed there. Further investigation required."

"Dominance Conclusion. Some kind of need for control? Suggests a lack of control but targets display rudimentary levels of cunning and restraint. Possibly a narcissistic affliction and/or a mental disorder. Both cannot be discounted at this time. Detailed background information required relating to past events in which trio are known to have been involved. Medical records could also provide clues to mental disorder conclusion. further investigation required."

He looked up through the transparent blind to the noonday sky. Rooftop surveillance wasn't usually the best choice for these kinds of things due to being so exposed but the cloak took care of that. Plus, if they left the complex earlier than intended he needed to be mobile to follow.

"Observation: Lack of Agenda." Sebastian continued. "No agenda indicates an 'in the moment mindset.' Addiction. Narcotics unlikely. Emotional probable. Fits pattern of activities observed to date."

He clicked off the device thinking through the next part of his report. He no longer had to file them, thank God, but old habits, even rusty ones, were hard to shake. Besides, the Alliance spent thousands of credits teaching him these skills. Be a shame to let them run fallow.

"Observation Summary: Jane 1." The crouched man uttered as he continued. "Sadist mindset. Enjoys giving pain to others emotionally. If unattainable, escalation to physical violence is possible to satisfy addiction. Further research required. Supports mental disorder theory. Supports Dominance Conclusion."

"Jane 2. Typical follower. Shared glory by proximity. Cannot discount using proximity to avoid being a target herself. If alternative protection was available, could be flipped. Further research is required."

"Jane 3. Sadist Mindset. Aggressive. Adversarial. Combative. Almost Batarian in her actions with an Asari patience. Suggest a very strict worldview of might makes right, and an inherent belief that she rests at the pinnacle of this structure."

He once again cut the recording going over his observations. Considering how little he had to work with he was pretty confident this was a dead end for now. He deactivated his omni-tool turning instead to the portable terminal to study the surprise he found imbedded in the network here.

The encryption was impressive, elegant even. He knew enough from his brush with it that it was a monitoring program that was attached to the surveillance software in the complex he was watching. He scrolled through a few more segments nodding along. Tasked, at least that was his guess by what he was seeing, with looking for certain predestined triggers. What those where, he couldn't tell from the snippet he gained, but whoever was watching knew he had tried to access the feed. At least, they knew someone tried to remotely access the feed.

One question he had was why? This level of encryption for _here_? The only conclusion he could see was that it was put in place either to watch someone because they were looking for something specific, or they were protecting someone. Both were worrisome.

Another question was how? Who on this world had this level of skill? It would have taken him a month to put together something like this. So, he was dealing with someone who was educated like he was and patient. One thing he couldn't completely discount was that he might not have managed to throw off all pursuit after his arrival. If Cerberus was here, they needed to die, regardless of his promise to Taylor. She didn't understand what they were capable of. If push came to shove, he'd show her, but that… that was problematic in its own way.

Still, if that was the only way to convince her, he'd do it. No reservations.

Sebastian rubbed his eyes. He was redlining well before the he arrived here. His self-imposed solitude didn't help. Nor all the work he'd done trying to figure things out. He knew he was burning out. Just didn't know how to stop it. He absentmindedly reactivated his recording program. "Self-Note. Next time you decide it's a good idea to spend a day doing reconnaissance, get a full night's sleep first. Preferably, more than one."

He closed the terminal. Nothing could be done about that now. It was going to take him some time to devise a counter program that would give him access and not be discovered. Assuming he got it right the first time. He'd only get a second chance if whoever this was wasn't watching closely. Which, considering the script portions he read, wasn't likely. No one put that much effort in and just left it to rot.

He looked back to the complex his targets were in. "Scenario Resolutions: Sanitation. Unviable without command approval. However, I will note that it would make this whole thing a lot fucking easier."

"Play the Game. Without a sanitation option, with further research into the backgrounds of targets, it is possible to 'beat them at their own game.' Detailed bios on all three necessary. Complicated, takes time, and has a high probability of escalating to violence. This would defeat the purpose of not sanitizing them from the beginning. Command probably won't go for this either."

"Local Authorities. Considering how widespread the trio's influence is in this limited sphere, the likelihood that the local authorities are compromised is a high possibility. Any resolution is unlikely to come from this direction. Observation Encryption lends weight to this conclusion."

"Conclusions: Barring an inexplicable lack of hostilities and/or the intervention of an outside agency, not to mention the lack of a sanitation option, further research will be required. Backgrounds to each of the Jane's, past activities, their families, connections, city influences, finances, as well as those of local authorities will be necessary to facilitate the creation of a resolution that Command will accept."

He stopped recording as he saw lots of movement. Most of the structure's populace were leaving their rooms. He check the time nodding to his thought that it was about time for the afternoon meal.

He didn't have any difficulty finding his targets. They were waiting with a few others in the hallway. He panned over to the adjacent room seeing Taylor talking with one of the Professors. Judging by what he could see of her body language she wasn't happy with the topic.

It took about five minutes before she was released to go about her business. Not that she got far. Just to her locker where she recoiled as soon as she got close to it. Jane Three's work from earlier no doubt. As if thinking of them brought them to the fore, they converged. The Janes, with a small group of followers surrounded Taylor blocking all egress routes. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Promise or not, he wasn't going to watch her get hurt if he could stop it.

Sebastian reached into his duffel. The second the object cleared it began unpacking extending to its full length. He laid it on the wall bringing his eye to the scope as he adjusted the site. It didn't take long for him to zero in on the scene.

Slow deep breath. Slow exhale. Steady hands gripped his weapon as he adjusted the site so the cross hairs fell over Jane One's nose. He disengaged the safety before slowly placing his finger on the trigger.

Even going through the rough thermal imaging program he installed he had a clear shot. A few quick calculations allowed him to adjust for the distance as he watched how this would play out.

Taylor folded her arms looking like she was just going to bare through it. Verbal harassment then. Why did she let herself get surrounded? She knew better than that. It was one of the things he constantly couched her to be careful of. Granted, he was also teaching her to deal with an enemy who had numerical superiority, but she didn't have any gear.

She had her bugs though. Why wasn't she using them? Why didn't she have the buildings layout mapped in advance? Why wasn't every organic in the building tagged? _Damn it,_ Sebastian thought to himself.

As he watched he could see Jane One seemed to be working herself up to something. So far they hadn't made any aggressive movements so he held himself in check. He didn't move from the scene until Taylor's face shifted slightly looking over Jane Two's shoulder.

He panned the scope toward that direction. The professor had just left his room. "Good, he'll put an end to this shit."

Except he didn't. Through the scope Sebastian watched as the man turned to the scene, then walked away.

It took every bit of his self-control not to pull the trigger. _Further evidence of administrative corruption._

He returned the scene. Jane Two looked on. Jane Three was hanging back also just watching though her body posture displayed she was more than ready to leap into things if given the slightest encouragement. Sebastian ground his teeth.

Whatever Jane One was saying was starting to have an effect. He could see Taylor shaking slightly before she bolted through the crowd leaving behind her things.

_Pull, Jane One down. Figure one, maybe two second surprise leverage as their minds try to understand what just happened. Plenty of time to drop Jane Three. Jane Two would run but I bet I could take her out before she got far…._

Sebastian growled to himself. He could easily do it, but didn't. They didn't escalate, so he couldn't justify this action.

Would have felt good though.

He pulled back compacting the rifle and storing it away before he tempted himself to use it. Once done he looked through the scope to see a distressed Taylor fleeing through the front entrance. Sebastian's frown felt like it was etching into his face. He adjusted the scope to give him a closer view of the running figure. He managed it but she was surprisingly fast.

Her steps seemed automatic, sure but unfocused. He panned the scope to get a look at her face before she rounded the corner and he lost sight for a moment. She was crying.

She reappeared on the other side, still running to the bus stop. Once there she sat on one of the benches putting her head in her hands, shoulders shaking.

How long has she been dealing with this? Why was she allowing it to happen?

"Shore leave." Sebastian muttered to himself. That's what they needed. They'd been running full tilt since the trade. That wasn't doing either of them any good. He reached into his pocket pulling out his portable comm dialing the number for the one he gave her last night. Hopefully she listened and kept it on her.

Through the magnified lens of the scope he saw her jump. He shook his head when she looked around to see if anyone was watching before extracting hers from the pocket of her jeans.

"Hey…"

"Not a bad time is it?"

He heard her sniff before answering. "...No, no. Um, is everything alright?"

She must have heard something in his voice. He adjusted his tone to a more lighthearted one. "Yeah. Had a thought. What do you say to some Shore leave?"

"Shore leave?" Taylor asked in surprise.

"Sure. I think we've earned a bit of R&R. "

"Oh, um… like a… I mean, hang out?"

"Pretty much." Sebastian's frown faded turning into a smirk. She sounded a bit enthusiastic about the idea. That alone made the idea worthwhile. "Any ideas on what would be good? Figured you'd know better than I would."

"The Boardwalk as a few places. Brockton Bay is a tourist city and that's where they go. Kinda expensive."

"I think we can afford it." He chuckled.

"Right…"

"So, want me to pick you up or meet you there?"

He watched her stand up through the scope. "A ride sounds good. When you get here..."

His eyebrow raised when she turned around. Through the magnified view the scope offered he saw Taylor lift her head upward. Face a little haggard and eyes slightly red.

Staring directly into his own as he was standing right in front of her.

"...you can tell me what you are doing on top of that building."

_Now that's not creepy at all…_ He thought to himself with a wide smile on his face. _Better late than never. _

"Your range has gotten better."

"We'll see if that still impresses you when you get down here." Taylor replied firmly.

"Be there in five." Sebastian said as he cut the connection. He raised his eye from the scope seeing a wasp on it. It didn't move. Just_ looked_ at him in a way he'd never seen an insect do before. Even Rachni didn't have that kind of control over their drones. Nor did the Collectors over their swarms. This was his first taste of being on the other side of her power. If half their opponents feel like this when faced with her, she could own the city inside two months if she wanted it.

"Yeah, Kirrahe would have sold the Dalatrass herself into prostitution for your skill set. Hopefully I don't end up like Twitchy when she's done with me…"


	18. Camera One 4

**Camera One 3.4**

I heard the rumble of Sebastian's bike before it came around the corner a few minutes after he hung up. He parked next to where I was standing with my arms folded. I waited until he dismounted and took off his helmet. However, he spoke before just as I opened my mouth.

"You look pissed."

"Figure that out all by yourself did you?" I snarked.

Sebastian raised his hands as if surrendering. "You are pissed. Okay, not saying you don't have the right to be, but hear me out before you eviscerate me?"

I made no attempt to moderate my tone. "What are you doing here?"

"Backing you up." Sebastian stated simply.

I blinked. I knew there wasn't anyone close enough to hear us but I still lowered my voice so only he could hear me. "Backing me up, from a rooftop, with our surveillance gear, under the cloak, three blocks away?"

Sebastian turned slightly so he could look at the bike. I didn't need to look to know he saw the three spiders on it. Nor did I have to be a thinker to see he figured out I had enough bugs in the bag to know what was in it. "It had a perfect field of view of both major entrances as well as the majority of the school buildings. I scouted a few other places but none of them offered the same over watch capabilities that one did."

I pinched the bridge of my nose trying to stop the migraine that was starting. He didn't seem the slightest bit repentant. At least he wasn't trying to joke his way through this.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since zero four hundred, Earth standard." He answered formally.

His wording caught me slightly off guard but how long he was here stole my attention. "Since four… So you didn't even rest after last night. You what, came here after dropping me off?"

"Not quite. Picked up a few things from my place then came here. Got a couple of hours rest though after I set up."

"Tell me you realize just how fucking creepy this is?"

Sebastian nodded firmly, "Yes. It occurred to me you would feel that way which was why I set myself out of your range. Well, I tried to set myself out of your range. As I said, it's gotten better. That's a good thing since it means your abilities are still growing, even if it means you caught me."

"Stop with the bullshit flattery!" I snarled. "You knew I would be upset and yet you came here anyways? What the fuck, Sebastian? Why the hell are you spying on me? God damn it! This is my private life! What gives you the right to do something like this and just act like it's no big deal!?"

I noticed a slight gleam in his eyes as I raged at him. "There it is…"

"There _what_ is?" I half growled.

Sebastian didn't make any attempt to keep his voice down when he answered. "There's that _fire_ I see at night!"

The bugs I had on a few pedestrians across the street told me they turned at Sebastian's shout. "Will you keep your fucking voice down? You trying to out me?" I hissed harshly.

His voice lowered as he took several steps to stand in front of me before flinging his arm to point at the school. "No, but why the hell are you not taking that fire to those mother fuckers in there? Why the hell are you letting them torment you?!"

The passerby's were watching us now but being across the street meant they couldn't hear what we were saying. So long neither of us started shouting again. "We're being watched now so keep your voice down. This is exactly why I keep my lives separate! What gives you the right to just walk into my personal life uninvited and spy on me?"

My question seemed to take some of the anger out of his voice. "Because we're team mates. More importantly, to me anyways, you are my _friend_. A _friend_ I respect and care about. You're the only good thing I have on this fucked up planet. If you think I'm just going to sit back and let shit like this happen to you, then you're wrong. You mentioned having a rough time here but you never told me it was like this!"

"Because I didn't want you coming here and killing anyone!" I hissed it as quietly as I could. My breathing was slightly ragged with our faces nearly touching in an effort to have this out without anyone else hearing. "I'm handling it. I've been dealing with this place for almost two years. If I told you what was happening here you would have come here and started killing everyone, and despite the way they treat me, I'm not going to let that happen!"

Sebastian's eyes were locked on my glare. I could tell by his face he knew I was right. "Why, Taylor? Why are you doing this to yourself? You never struck me as the masochist type, but this? No one should live like this."

I took a step away from him feeling my own anger burn out at his tone of voice. The couple across the street started moving on finally but I noticed three others moving into hearing range as they headed for the bus stop. I walked to the street corner putting a bit of distance between us before I turned back to Sebastian who followed me without hesitation.

"If I retaliated, where would it stop? What am I going to have to do to make them stop? Trash talk? What good is that going to do against what they have already shown they are capable of when I didn't fight back?"

"Kick their ass? I could probably take Emma and Madison, alone or together, but not Sophia. Maybe if I caught her alone yeah, but not all three at once. In the last two years they've turned the whole school against me. You think all those other assholes are going to just let that go? Hell, a couple of months ago Emma had two guys try and drag me into an alley after school. Would have too but they weren't nearly as fast as I was so I was able to get away. Just me on my own, I can't win against these odds."

"You wouldn't be alone if you let me help you." Sebastian stated grimly.

"And that half makes my next point. The only way I could take them on, or any random person who happened to find us fighting is to use my bugs. How long could I get away with giving them craps or lice before something happened that escalated things so I would have to do more? Once I go down that road, where do I draw the line?"

"Even if I lowered myself to their level and did that, what do you think would happen? Emma's dad has a lot of big shot lawyer connections. Madison's family is fairly well connected with the city's merchant council. Who do you think they're going to side with? Their daughters or the girl who used her powers to kick the shit out of them? They'd have me in the fucking Birdcage before I could even blink."

"Even if I thought it was worth it, Sebastian, and I will admit there are days I am tempted to, I won't. I'm better than them. Better than these sad, shallow bitches who get their thrills tormenting me. Because of them, I got powers. Now, I'm going to use them to help people. If I use my powers on them, I become no better than they are. I can't lower myself to that. I won't justify what they did to me. Even if it means I have to keep taking their shit."

Sebastian folded his arms before leaning against the light pole next to us. The three people I noticed with my bugs were sitting on the bus stop bench. They didn't act like they heard anything and I was pretty confident I managed to keep my voice low enough that they couldn't. I was very relieved when they boarded the bus that showed up a few minutes later.

I was so emotionally drained by all this. What Emma said about my mom, how she used her death like a blunt instrument to hurt me. Sebastian spying on me. I just wanted to be anywhere else but here. I don't think I ever felt this tired. By the time Sebastian started talking again I managed to wipe my eyes and get myself under control. "That, is a reason I can respect. I don't like it, I still think you should let me do something about them, but I can respect your reasoning."

"You're not going to do anything to them, Sebastian. Just… just let this go, okay?"

It took him awhile before he replied. "Alright."

It was grudgingly spoken, but it was enough. I turned to away from him. "Why did you even think you needed to do this?"

"The day we met you looked like hell. You mentioned things were rough for you here a few times but never told me what. So, I decided to be close by in case something happened."

To be honest, it was probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me, while also equally being the creepiest fucking thing ever.

I'm not sure what it said about me that I couldn't tell them apart or decide how I wanted to feel about this.

"Why?" I asked still trying to wrap my head around all this. "Why go through all this for _me_?"

"Why do you think you're not worth it?"

I didn't reply.

Sebastian sighed at my silence. "Taylor, do you know how I managed to achieve the things I did back in my dimension? Now, I'm not the bragging kind, but I'm good. I'll even go as far as to say I was the best at what I did for the Alliance, and most of that involved killing or blowing things up. But what made me _great,_ wasn't my biotics, the training, the weapons, or technology I had. It was the people who fought with me."

I turned to look at him noticing his eyes never left me. "My methods back then were not always the cleanest, but why I did the things I did were. Dirty work leaves a stain on you that nothing can wash off. No matter how necessary. It takes something from you, every time you find yourself having to do it. The alternative is that you don't, and innocent people get hurt, or die. So, I did the work that needed doing and the people who followed me did the same knowing it was going to get harder to look themselves in the mirror the next morning."

"People like that, they're a rare breed. No matter their species. As their commanding officer, I had to take care of them so they didn't crumble under the stress. Sometimes that meant talking to them, being that understanding ear they needed. Sometimes, it meant helping them with something. Helping them take care of unfinished business so they could devote themselves to the task ahead. Now and then, it meant I had to shoulder the load for them. And I did, because they needed it. Because we were team mates. Mostly, because they were my friends or they were people I cared about in some way. Since Mindoir, I always had a hard time allowing myself to get close to people. For those I do, there isn't much I wouldn't do for them. And I've done some pretty fucked up things for the people I cared about. I can never wash that blood from my hands, but I'd do it again if it meant the I could alleviate their burdens."

Sebastian lowered his arms taking a few steps closer to me before he enveloped me in them. I felt my whole body stiffen. "I won't hurt those girls, but I would kill each and every one of them without hesitation if it meant your life would be easier."

I shivered slightly in Sebastian's warm embrace. "You do realize you sound like a complete psychopath, don't you?"

I felt his chuckle where my cheek was pressed against his chest. "I have my moments."

I stayed there, safe in his arms for a while before I moved. He let me go without resistance. "Let's get out of here. We've already risked enough having this out in a public place."

"Where to?"

"Just, take me somewhere safe? No people." I asked hugging myself.

"I know just the place. After a while when you're feeling better, maybe we can talk about something that's come up?"

I turned back to Sebastian. "What do you mean?"

"An associate of mine came to me with a problem. I want to help him and his family, but this isn't like what we've been doing this last week."

I started to get a bad feeling at how that sounded. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I want to rob a bank."


	19. Camera One 5

**Camera One 3.5**

My mind was still a jumbled mess by the time we rolled into the parking lot. Seriously, when did my life get so complicated? Not that I was complaining, it sure beat what it was like before. At least now, I had upsides to look forward to. Even if they were upsides that would have most normal people running for the hills. To most people I knew, going to the Boardwalk for a few hours is a great idea, but who thinks it's a good idea to go hang out at the Boardwalk with a gun slinging space cowboy who placed killing people firmly in the same category as making a sandwich? As Sebastian parked I looked to the back of his helmet.

_I do,_ I thought with a slight smile. In the few weeks we've known each other I've learned there were two things core to his personality. One, Sebastian was probably the most dangerous individual in the Bay, pound for pound. His power was versatile; he had knowledge of his powers that anyone would envy, and, for lack of a better word, they were powerful. If he had a rating, I would imagine it would be in the upper sections. Easily an A Lister.

And that was just his powers. He had a huge knowledge base to draw from. Trained, well-educated and experienced. Okay, granted, most of that had to do with hurting people, and he knew _a lot_ of ways to hurt people. Which, I thought as I dismounted the bike, I really hoped he didn't do here.

Not that I was _really_ worried about him doing something like that. For all his cavalier attitude when it came to most people, Sebastian was remarkably controlled. Not sure if that was his training or something he learned to do to on his own to control his impulses, but it was still something that I admired.

As I set the helmet on the bike, my thoughts brought me to the second thing about him that stood out. Sebastian was, professionally speaking, fucking nuts. In the last few weeks I've tried to understand how his mind works but it operated like a pachinko machine. One moment he as the sweetest person I ever met, and the next, I'm wondering if today is the day I'm going to have to hide a dead body. I shook my head at that thought. Not very fair to him.

Even if it was true.

Another example of his thought process. He suggests 'shore leave'. This sounded a lot like he was asking me out on a date but actually was just his idea of hanging out. Not that I was surprised or anything. Sebastian wanting to hang out made a lot more sense than thinking he might be interested, that way.

I sighed burying my feelings on that subject as much as I could. I had enough to think about without thinking about my nonexistent love life. Way too depressing.

So now because of how my day had gone, I suggested we go somewhere safe with no people. I was thinking of that movie he mentioned we never got a chance to watch. Starship something or another. Sebastian says he knew a good place, which I thought might have been either my house, or wherever he was staying. And where do we end up? The Boardwalk.

Safe, yes. People free? Not so much.

I turned looking to the entrance at the end of the parking lot. The arch stood maybe twelve feet up with a wooden sign proclaiming our location to everyone who looked and judging by the crowed I saw, there was a lot of people here. "Erm... I kinda didn't want to be around so many people."

"Sure you do." Sebastian playfully argued. "You just don't want to be around bitchy _Azures_."

"_Azures_?" I asked as I turned to him.

Sebastian was going through his stuff in the saddle bag. Between the fact he was kneeling behind the bike and had his head down I couldn't see his face. "It's slang for a part of the Asari body in some parts of the galaxy."

"Alright," _Best to just go with it._ "Where?"

"Mainly toward the lower end." He answered.

I shook my head as I corrected him. "Actually meant where on the asari body."

"So did I." Sebastian said as he looked up with a dirty smirk on his face.

_Yeah, I had it right the first time._ I thought as I rolled my eyes at his juvenile humor.

"How many languages do you know?" I couldn't help but ask him.

"Two. English, and really bad English, though I can swear pretty fluently in three different human languages as well as a half dozen galactic ones."

I rolled my eyes at his comment. "Of course you can."

"We should go shopping." Sebastian abruptly suggested surprising me.

I raised an eyebrow at his completely random comment. Twenty minutes ago he wanted to shoot Emma. Now… "Shopping."

"Sure, don't girls like to go shopping in this century? They did in mine."

I blinked. "Umm. I suppose so?"

"Then we should do that. Where to first? Lots of places here."

"Well," I hesitated trying to switch mental gears. "…there's a bazar down that way." I pointed. "Lots of vendors selling just about everything touristy the Bay offers. Like I said before, kinda expensive."

I watched as Sebastian finally stood. In his hand was a stack of bills half an inch thick. "Think this will cover most of it? I can bring the other half if not."

"Are… Is that… How much is that?"

"Ten thousand of the local currency."

"You're driving around with ten thousand dollars in _cash_?"

"Bit over twenty actually, but yeah. It's not like humanity has access to the volus run galactic markets yet. How else am I supposed to carry it?"

Okay, off all the things he could have said, that actually made sense. Between our ages, and the fact we'd be trying to move large amounts of money it wasn't like we could use a bank.

_Especially if we actually start robbing them._

Still, it was pretty shocking. I mean, I never even had more than five hundred in my account at any one time and he was walking around with over _twenty grand! _In_ cash!_

Before I could respond he continued oblivious to my reaction. "Besides, half of this is yours anyways. I have the rest at my place until we figure out a better way to store it."

"Mine?" I asked ignoring the fact he said there was more. I was having a hard enough time with just this.

"What? Did you think I was keeping all the proceeds from our salvage?" Sebastian asked.

"Well, no, but you never said anything about that. Just that you had a guy who was doing that for you."

"Same guy with the problem actually, but we'll talk about that later. Back to my earlier question, think this will be enough?"

"I don't see how we'd need anywhere near this much unless you're planning on buying a boat or something."

Sebastian nodded handing half the stack to me and pocketing the rest. "Then I think we should go."

I folded my share and stuffed it into my jeans uncomfortably. As we started walking toward the archway ahead I couldn't help but feel like there was a huge sign over my head that read 'Hi, I'm an idiot carrying five thousand dollars! Mug me!'

"I don't know about this." I couldn't help but voice. "I feel like there's a target on my back. I'm just waiting for someone to attack us."

For all my uncertainty, there was none in Sebastian's voice when he spoke. "Anyone who tries and attack us is either desperate or incredibly stupid. Stopping the first is a sad necessity. Beating crap out of the second is a favor to our species."

His comment actually got a chuckle out of me. It _was_ stupid to worry about that considering who we were. Even if we didn't use our powers, Sebastian alone was easily a match for just about any regular thug on the street we might come across. As for me, he taught me a few tricks that, while I might not flat out win in a fight, I could certainly make someone regret starting one.

As we passed under one of the arches that proclaimed our destination I took in the scene. It was crowded. Lots of people in their finery doing their tourist thing moving from shop to shop, chatting loudly and in general, enjoying the festive atmosphere.

So different than when I ended up here on my runs. I could barely recognize the place. Still, I found my mood lifting. Maybe there was something to Sebastian's random idea after all. No Emma and company here to bother me. I had money and I couldn't think of better company to spend the day with. I looked to the sky noticing that it was completely clear. Why shouldn't I enjoy myself? Sebastian was right, we had earned a bit of rest and relaxation for our efforts this week.

"I haven't been in place like this since the last time I visited Elysium." Sebastian stated as he looked around.

I started walking to the market bazaar. "Did you have people to buy things for you when you were serving?"

He shook his head while still looking around. "Not quite. Sometimes. You could get just about anything over the extranet and have it shipped to you or to your next port of call. What I meant was shopping in a place like this. I don't see a single weapons or tech dealer anywhere. So strange, it's bothered me for the last six months. How do most people get their small arms?"

I rolled my eyes at his question. "Stop being an ass, Sebastian."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him smile. I was catching on to his teasing ways. It took us about fifteen minutes to walk the crowded distance. As we poked about the various booths I found a genuine smile on my face. I never was one for just randomly shopping for things, but Sebastian's reactions to the various bits of merchandise we came across made the experience worth it.

"Tell me it's a gag gift." He half asked me pointing to a display rack.

I laughed at the horrified look on his face. "Nope."

"If anyone from the Hegemony ever saw stuff like that, they'd use it as justification that Humanity did not deserve a place in the galactic community. God forbid the Turian Hierarchy ever saw something like that."

"Somehow I doubt that. Its just underwear."

"It has someone's face on it! Hey!" To my amused embarrassment Sebastian called the vender over.

"What are you doing?" I asked while still struggling to hold in my laughter.

"Getting confirmation."

The smiling woman walked over with a curious look on her face. "Yes, young man? How can I help you?"

"Do people really buy those?"

"Yes indeed. I'm sorry to say we are all out of the Legend's and Alexandria's though. I just can't get enough to meet the demand. We do have a selection featuring our very own local Wards over there sir, if you're interested?"

I looked from the helpful sales woman to Sebastian and lost it. He looked completely stunned. I was still laughing five minutes later after vender got frustrated and half shoved us away from her stall.

"Mental." I heard him grumble to himself as we walked to the next booth. "I have no idea how humanity expects to be treated seriously by the other civilizations in the galaxy if they keep going like this. It's a miracle my people made it as far as they did if they were like this in the beginning."

"Stop being so dramatic." I said between chuckles. Not seeing anything interesting in the next few booths we continued through the area. "At least now I know what to get you for your birthday."

Sebastian shivered which made me laugh again. "And I thought Aria had a vicious streak in her. You're evil. You are an evil, evil woman."

Still laughing I stopped at another clothing booth. Like the other one it had a lot of hero merchandise for sale. Mostly t-shirts. I walked over to one of the racks and started going through it. Looked like a section on the Wards. "You can't tell me there wasn't similar stuff where you're from."

From over the rack I was looking through I noted Sebastian smiling back at me. "Sure, but it's just as stupid now as it was then. These people are supposed to be 'Heroes'. The pinnacle of paragonic virtue. Men and women who fight the good fight for the betterment of society, and here they are, whoring themselves out like pole dancer on Omega. Like this guy…"

I looked up from a Aegis shirt that caught my eye. Sebastian was holding up one that featured a different Ward. He stood in a heroic pose. His head was tilted upward, arms on his hips with one foot stepping on some villain I never heard of before. Whoever designed it went the extra mile detailing his silver and gunmetal black armor, as well as showing off his trademark smile.

"Not a fan of Gallant?" I asked. I didn't even try to hide my amusement at his overplayed disgust. "He's pretty popular, as far as Wards goes."

"I'm not a fan of idiots, no." Sebastian emphasized by shaking the shirt slightly. "And anyone who allows their faces put on underwear and t-shirts is an idiot."

"There's also action figures, dolls, plushies, lunch boxes, pens, notebooks…" I said ticking off the various bits of merchandise available just to wind him up.

"Oh, for the love of… What's next? Gallant the Flamethrower?" Sebastian asked sarcastically as he put the shirt back.

I snorted. "If there was, I bet it'd be Kid Win's. He's the Ward Tinker." I corrected him as I moved to the next rack.

"I bet the kids would just love that. At least if they did something like that, the item in question would have practical applications and be useful. Flamethrowers have a lot of tactical uses. Even if it had some morons face on it."

"Then I'm glad you don't work in the Protectorate P.R. Department. You'd have weapon dealers on every street corner. The city would be burned to the ground by the end of the week."

I pulled a shirt from the rack. This one was one of the better ones. It was white, with a couple of overlapping gears on the front of the left breast pocket. The back had a really good rendition of the doomsday clock covering most of it. The hands were stopped at a second till' the thirteenth hour. The image sort of became iconic of the ward since he joined. The legend at the top identified who the shirt was representing.

"See, if you're going to be a tool of the state, at least do it with style. This one I can actually appreciate." I half turned to Sebastian to find him standing behind and to the side of me looking at the shirt. "Clockblocker." He chuckled. "I even like his name."

I smiled at Sebastian's turn around. Clockblocker was hard not to like. "At least there's one Ward you like."

I was further surprised when Sebastian took the shirt from me before walking over to the vendor. I shook my head at his antics. I couldn't tell if he was being outrageous because that was his personality, or if he was trying to make me smile.

As I watched him buy the shirt, thirty bucks was asking a bit much but he didn't even bat an eyelash at the price, I couldn't help but smile regardless.  
>"Hungry? I missed lunch."<p> 


	20. Camera One 6

**Camera One 3.6**

"Sure. Here, try this on." Sebastian said before he plopped a ridiculous straw hat on my head.

"I can feel my intelligence dropping by the second." I glared at him from under the wide brim.

"Perfect."

"I'm not wearing this stupid thing…" I started to say as I took it off. Some of my hair had got caught in the cheap weave of the hat, snagging it. I started to pull them free when I noticed Sebastian put a worse version on his own head. I blinked at the eye catching tie dyed bandana around it. His ridiculous smile as if it was the greatest thing in the world made him look even more idiotic.

Half to my embarrassment I burst into laughter, which made him smile wider. I kept laughing for a moment until he put the other hat back on my head.

"Now, you need a tourist shirt, Miss Militia maybe, and some sunglasses then we'll be ready to go."

I opened my mouth to argue when I felt him take my hand. My cheeks flushed at the contact which effectively killed my retort as he half dragged me to the next stall that sold sunglasses and started putting them on. The first one had goggle eyes but it was swiftly followed by purple framed ones, then one that looked like gears. Each following pair more ridiculous than the next.

I looked around trying to see if anyone was watching his antics. It also gave me a moment to get myself as much under control as I could considering he seemed intent on embarrassing the hell out of me before we left for lunch. I sighed at the idiocy I was indulging in as I reached for one of sunglasses you can clip on your real glasses. As enticing as the idea of being blinded to the looks we were likely to get I wasn't looking forward to walking around completely blind. "Why are we doing this? This is ridiculous."

"Yes. Yes it is." Sebastian said looking into the mirror wearing a pair of overlarge sunglasses.

"So, we're doing this, why?"

"Because we're tourists. This is what tourists do."

"No we're not…"

"Yes, we are."

Something in his voice made me look up at him from the more conservative pair I was holding. As he took off one pair to try on another I noticed his eyes looking steadily into the mirror in front of him. I lowered my voice. "What's going on?"

I looked into the corner of Sebastian's eyes as he changed glasses again noticing they were intently staring into the mirror. The way he was looking made me think it wasn't his own reflection he was studying. I narrowed my eyes. I didn't know what was going on but something had his attention. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise.

I leaned into him using the same mirror he was and repeated my question. "What's going on?"

He answered me still trying on different glasses. "Security's been following us for the last ten minutes."

"Why would they do that?"

"Could be several reasons. Two immediately spring to mind. He's either not really Security and looking for a mark, or it's because he's not used to seeing teenagers in the market this time of day."

_So stupid. _Of course he wasn't. School didn't let out for another few hours still. "And this is why we're wearing these stupid eye catching hats?"

"Heh. What's the difference between a local and a Tourist?"

"Aside from the obvious, locals generally can't afford to do more than visit these kinds of places."

Sebastian chuckled. "Probably true, but I was actually talking about the obvious. Tourist don't live here. Locals do. Locals wouldn't be caught dead with some of this merchandise, much less be willing to be seen wearing any of it because they are likely to meet people they know. They have to live here so they don't want people to see them being silly. Ruin their rep."

"Tourists are free from that. What do they care that some local is laughing at them for their indulgences? Doesn't affect their little corner of the world. So they are free to be silly and indulge in activities they normally wouldn't do all in the name of being on vacation in a foreign location. Local Security might not be trained to look for that behavior pattern, but if they have been active long enough, they would subconsciously look for it as it sets the local apart from the tourist. The last thing any security person is going to want is for locals to be trolling about ruining the visitor's experience of their city. Never doubt it all comes down to credits. So, we play the tourist which seems to be working. He's moving on."

I blinked. "So your plan to throw off Boardwalk security, is to look like an idiot and be happy about it?"

"If it works. Which, it is. Want a pair of sunglasses?"

"What I want," I said as I started leading us out of the market. I took the opportunity to link my arm in his to direct him. Totally so we could use the proximity it offered us to talk privately. No ulterior motives here, no sir. "Is for you to explain how you know all that. Was there anything they didn't teach you in N7?"

I gulped as he one upped me. His arm moved from mine to encircle my waist leaving his hand resting comfortably on my hip. I almost stumbled at the contact but thankfully didn't make more of a fool out of myself than a slight stiffening of my posture. Sebastian seemingly oblivious nodded to what I said while matching his stride to mine. "Heh, not something they actually teach. Though I didn't take the infiltrator courses, so I can't say they don't, just not something they added to my skill set. Actually, I picked this up from Ash."

"Ash? I don't think you mentioned him before. Was he a friend of yours?"

Sebastian nodded. I noticed a strange expression cross his face when he did. I'd only seen it once before. That night on Captains Hill when he talked about some of his old squad. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, formerly of the Two-Twelve Garrison force attached to Eden Prime."

"Wasn't common knowledge it but wasn't exactly a secret either, but the Two-Twelve had a bit of a rep as being a washout unit." Sebastian informed me with a slight look of distaste on his face. "Marines who couldn't hack it in mainline infantry. Ash had the bad luck of being born into a family that was blackballed from service. Had to admire her drive though. It takes a special kind of rough neck to slam skulls against those odds."

"She'd seen her share of shit postings from the day she graduated basic. Alliance brass had her pegged for the Two-Twelve as soon as they realized they couldn't get her to wash out. I read her jacket, they tried like hell but they didn't realize she had a stubborn streak that would have made a Krogan proud. Shame too, with her scores she would have sailed through the N Program. Anyways, Eden Prime was just the last in a long line of garrison stints in tourist spots."

"Ash could spot a tourist a mile away." Sebastian chuckled. "After Ash joined us on the SR-1, we used to play a game on the Citadel whenever we were in port. Spot the Tourist. You would think I'd be decent at it with my N7 training but Ash was downright frightening. I can count on one hand how many times she was wrong."

As we crossed out of the market we found ourselves walking along the pier overlooking the bay. His chuckle turned into a laugh as we walked. "Didn't matter the species either. The Citadel was the tourist destination of billions, what with it being the seat of rule for the galaxy. I remember the first time we played that game. Kaiden was with us and we were stopped at an overlook spot like this, but instead of the bay it overlooked the other four arms of the Citadel. Kaiden was talking about how frustrating yet understandable the Councils view of humanity was since we were galactic newcomers."

"I made a smart ass comment about how we had beautiful scenery, beautiful women," I felt his hand pat my hip which caused my face to heat up again. I ducked my head slightly so he wouldn't see it. "...emotions like love. What was there _not_ to like about humanity?"

"Ash came back saying that if I wanted her in a tin foil mini skirt and thigh high boots she wanted dinner first."

I chuckled with him. It would take _a lot_ more than dinner to get me in an outfit like that. "She sounds like a character."

"Heh, Ash had a sense of humor to make a marine blush when she felt comfortable enough with them. Caught Kaiden by surprise often enough. Had a bit of a chip on her shoulder due to her family history though. Didn't get close to many people. Didn't like aliens much either though she overcame that on the Normandy well enough. At least for Garrus, Tali, and Liara. She never did get along with Wrex though."

"Sounds like she got close to you." I commented.

That look was back in his eyes. I could literally see the earlier humor draining them. I wilted slightly wondering what I said that caused it. Did that come out jealous? After a moment Sebastian nodded. "Yeah. We... got, pretty close."

"Something happened."

Sebastian nodded. "Yeah. She died."

I winced. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm sorry..."

Sebastian waved it off. "Most of the people I knew are dead. Or were, I guess. Depends on how you look at the time stream, I suppose. Actually helps a bit knowing those things haven't happened yet. Knowing they'll get a second chance, like I am. Even if I wont be there for it."

I looked around awkwardly noticing we were close to a good place to for lunch. Probably be a better place to talk than just randomly walking around the boardwalk. "Did you want to talk about it? We don't have too, but if you want?"

Sebastian stopped walking. He let me go instead leaning on the railing overlooking the bay, and the Protectorate base floating over it. I stood next to him as he lit a cigarette. "We were on Virmire tracking down a lead on Saren when it happened. We linked up with an STG cell there and found out Saren built a research facility where he was studying Indoctrination and was cloning Krogan. The plan was to blow the facility. We split into four groups, Kirrahe lead Mannovai, Kaiden had Aegohr, which left Rentola with Jaeto. Liara, and Tali linked up with Mannovai and Jaeto respectively which left Garrus doubling with Kaiden. I ran Shadow, which was tasked with getting in deep and securing an LZ for the improvised tactical nuke Kirrahe put together."

As I listened I couldn't help but jump when he casually mentioned deploying a fucking nuclear warhead. I shook my head at the thought that the future, as Sebastian was painting it, just didn't seem like all that great a place to be. The random thought of how cool it would be to visit another planet was offset by the idea that had I been born in his time, or his dimension, I might have been visiting one just to blow it up.

"Ash, Wrex, and I cleared the deployment site when Kaiden got into a bind at the AA tower. Geth had them pinned down so they couldn't extract. I left Ashley with a couple of marines to guard the nuke while Wrex and I rushed to help the others."

Like that night on Captains Hill, his voice got quieter as he talked. I watched as Sebastian's eyes seemed to lose focus, lost in the memory. "We got about halfway when a drop ship started bleeding geth over the bombsight. Kaiden wanted me to go back, but Ash decided differently. She armed the nuke."

"She set it off?" I asked horrified.

Sebastian shook his head. "Set the timer, then fired the panel so it couldn't be stopped. Things were spiraling out of control and at that moment I realized, time had run out. We weren't getting everyone out of there. I was going to have to choose who did."

Sebastian sighed. It took him a while before he started talking again. "I've lost a lot of people over my years of service. Most of them because of my decisions. I wasn't known as "The Butcher' for just what I did to my opposition."

I stayed quiet and listened.

"It never really affected me. It was part of the equation. Command liked me because I understood this. I understood sometimes you had to sacrifice people to guarantee the mission. I did it during the Blitz which saved tens of thousands of civilian lives for the cost of twenty marines. I did it again during the Torfan Campaign putting down seven united pirate bands numbering over three thousand for the cost of only two hundred. But this, this was different."

Sebastian held up one hand. "Do I save the woman I… was coming to care for, the first since Mindori?" I watched as he raised the other hand. "Or do I save the team that was tactically superior with two of my technical assets, not to mention several STG operatives. After a grueling few seconds, I ordered the Normandy to the bombsight. That's when Ash came over the comms…"

With the way he talked, I could easily see it. A futuristic hallway somewhere, Sebastian pacing. Torn with indecision and guilt at the choice he was facing. I could see the scene clearly in my mind. It was so vivid I could almost hear the sounds of gunfire in the background. I felt myself lost in the imagery as he continued.

_"Belay that Joker, you're not coming back Skipper..."_

_"Like hell I'm not Ash! What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

_"Making sure this bomb goes off, no matter what."_

_"Damn it Williams! Hold tight, I'll be there shortly."_

_"This isn't like you. Coman… Sebastian, you've never made the wrong call before…You come back for me, and there will always be a part of you that… You'll never be able to trust your judgment again. You're compromising the mission. For _me_. You _know_ Alenko's the right call. Tactically, _he's_ the right choice. Now get going."_

_"Ash, I..."_

"According to the Normandy's V.I. Gorden, Joslen, and Marnio were down by this point. Geth's weapons fire was impacting against whatever cover she was using. The noise overtook the channel for a moment until it let up enough for me to hear what Ash was saying. I only caught the last part of it. _'It matters not how strait the gate; How charged with punishments the scroll; I am master of my fate; The Captain of my soul._"

"I remember closing my eyes, hearing that. I knew what I wanted, but I also knew what the mission demanded. So, I said my last words to her knowing, just as she did, it was the only way this would go. No matter what either of us might have wanted. _'Fight hard, Marine. Die proud._"

"Her reply was just as grim as mine. '_Aye Aye Sir_."

Sebastian flicked the dead cigarette from him. "I can imagine that is sounds, odd. That in that moment, those would be our last words to each other considering, well, considering. I guess you had to know Ash to understand."

I knew he expected me to say something but I had no idea what to say to any of that. "I'm sorry." I ended up saying lamely. I wasn't sure if I meant about what happened, or even bringing this up in the first place.

"It is what it is. Ash and I, before Virmire we were getting close. A lot closer than we should have, considering I was a superior officer. There was just something about her… Had she survived, would we've continued to get closer? I don't know. Probably not considering what happened later but losing her like that changed me. You could say, it made me harder in some ways. Did, until Tali talked some sense into me."

Tali, I thought, who he saw die in the final battle. The other girl he was involved with. Fate, luck, whatever you wanted to call it didn't just seem to deal him a bad hand, it almost looked like it was out to get him. I leaned into Sebastian so he would know he wasn't alone anymore. I didn't comment on the tear that slowly trekked down his cheek. I don't know if he was comforted by my gesture or not, but I stood there anyways, trying. For sometime we just watched the waves roll across the bay. Sebastian hurting from things I could barely imagine, and me trying to help him through it, and failing badly.

Sebastian was a ball of pain and fury rolled in a cocoon of violence, spinning in a vortex of misery. He might have been an unstoppable soldier where he came from, but here, at this moment, he was every bit the lost teen I felt like most of the time. Perhaps more so with the baggage he brought with him. I couldn't help but admire his strength though. To live through all of that, to lose so much and still come out the other side _wanting _to help people. He talked about how the people who followed him were a rare breed, taking on the things they did for the cause. As I thought about it, I decided that if they were rare, Sebastian was unique.

I didn't know if I could help him recover from his old life, but I knew right then and there, I was going to try. I knew I could help him. I didn't know how yet, but I knew I could.

Whatever it took.


	21. Camera One 7

**Camera One 3.7**

I walked next to Sebastian. He hadn't said much since the boardwalk except to let me know what he wanted for his takeout order. For my part, I was too afraid to say something that would cause him to remember something else horrible that had happened to him.

There seemed to be a lot of those moments in his past.

It hadn't taken long, despite how it felt, to get his duffel from the bike and then make it to the beach. The sand around us sparkled in the daylight, the waves crashed on shore adding its chorus to the scene. The bay chill was just enough that it was refreshing. Would have been nice if not for circumstances.

We had passed the point where most people went. The ground became rocky here. I stood on one of the rock outcroppings looking back noticing the contrast, and the sign that stated quite clearly we shouldn't go any further. I turned around but didn't see Sebastian. I figured he couldn't have gotten far. I concentrated on keeping my footing as I continued forward. I wasn't as worried about falling as I was ruining our lunch if I dropped it.

Once I reached the sand again I finally noticed Sebastian. He was exiting a massive drainage pipe with his power surrounded him like a living nimbus. I'd seen him like that before, though usually in costume, so that didn't surprise me as much as the small boat that floated behind him. He walked to the water's edge without a care that he was uncostumed, in broad daylight, using his powers so blatantly. I looked around to make sure no one else could see him. Thankfully, the rock outcropping hid us pretty well from the boardwalk proper.

"I hate it when you do that."

Sebastian turned to me as the boat settled into the water. "Use my biotics?"

"Use them in plain sight when we're not in costume. Makes maintaining a secret identity a lot harder than it needs to be." I answered as I finally drew next to him.

"I still think it's overrated this need for masks and costumes. I can understand the need for body armor, but costume disguises and secret identities just seems like a lot more trouble than they're worth."

"Tell that to New Wave." I countered. "They're lucky only that most of them are pretty powerful, but ever since they outed themselves, they've been constantly fending off villain attacks at their home. I remember reading on the Wiki that there was about forty attacks against their friends and family last year."

"Point." After a moment he sighed. "Alright, I'll be more careful and check the area next time."

"Thank you. Where are we going that we need a boat? I thought we were going to your place."

"We are."

"And we need a boat to get there?"

"Well, I could use a Mass Effect field to make us lighter and then deploy a singularity to sort of sling us over there. Might take a couple of jumps to get there though. Assuming I get the trajectories right for each jump, but that's really exhausting. Not to mention I haven't done anything like that in years. Not since before I got my officers commission. Command didn't like the idea of their officers indulging in reckless sports, especially Ricochet"

"Do I even want to know what 'Ricochet' is?"

Sebastian smiled while he held the boat steady for me to climb in. Thankfully the back half of the boat was still on the sand so I didn't have to worry about getting my feet wet. "Great sport. You have to be a biotic to play Ricochet because it's a variant of Gravball. Just with less rules. With the prejudice against biotics amongst humanity, even if the Alliance was generally accepting, we tended to keep to our squad mates, or to ourselves. It was a popular pastime for us between missions. Kept our skills sharp and let us exercise our abilities in a controlled environment as well as learn new ways to use them."

"Also helped us integrate with the regular marines. There are a few things that are guaranteed to get a marines blood pumping. Usually that involves sex, the idea of hitting a bar after a grueling mission, a hot combat drop, and Ricochet. Not necessarily in that order though. Depended on the marine."

Thanks to his steady hands I was able to climb into the front section without tipping the little boat. Sebastian climbed in while he was explaining and with a push of his power got us deep enough for him to drop the little outboard into the water line. A quick tug slightly jostled me as it rocked the boat in a way that made me feel like it was going to tip over. Thankfully it didn't and it only took him one try to kick it into gear. He settled in piloting us deeper into the bay.

"I'll take your word for it. Can't say I feel the same way." In actuality, that 'sport' of his sounded a bit too much like a bunch of guys trying to hurt each other, in friendly competitive way. Well, friendly for his people I suppose. Not exactly my idea of a fun evening. Instead of commenting further I changed topics. "So, if you don't live around here, where do you live? I mean, this little boat isn't going to get us very far. Do you have a place on the other side of the bay?"

"Not in the way you're thinking. We're going to the Boat Graveyard."

I stared at him shocked. "You're kidding."

Sebastian shook his head while keeping a steady arm on the outboard. "Not at all. After I arrived here I decided I needed a place close to supplies while being defensible and away from the local inhabitance. The Boat Graveyard was perfect."

"So, you're what, squatting in an old wreck?"

"Made a few repairs." He half defended. "At first it was mostly just sealing off areas I needed. I'll grant you it's been rough living up until this last week but with an omni-tool I've made some serious strides in getting things up and running properly. Still a long way to go but I've made more progress in the last week than I have in the previous six months. Plenty of salvage now that I can get my hands on it."

I shook my head stunned. We rode the rest of the way in silence. I prepared myself for an uncomfortable, and hopefully quick, visit. Despite how confident he sounded that the conditions were decent, I just couldn't see it.

The Boat Graveyard. It took us about half an hour to arrive. It wasn't so much the distance, but the fact the little outboard he was using just didn't have enough power to get us there quickly. Even if it did, I doubted we would have been able to do so and keep the boat from capsizing since it was so light. Not without his powers to keep us steady. At least we weren't out on the open ocean. I've never been out on it before but I heard the chop is generally a lot worse.

As I took my first up close look at it, I could understand why Dad refused to talk about it. It wasn't so much the boats that stuck out from the waterline; there were only three that I could see. They looked like rusted husks of the once proud shipping vessels they once were. Seaweed slapped against the sides counterpointed by the sounds of the waves as they impacted the old hulls.

Still, it wasn't that visual that sent chills down my spine. It was the sense of hopelessness that seemed to permeate this place. Like the salt in the air, it was just there. Everywhere. As if those ships we could see, and the dozens of others at the bottom we couldn't, were crying out at the injustice of it all.

The scene could be summed up in one word. Depressing. And Sebastian made this his home. Fitting, I grudgingly allowed, considering what his life was like when he first arrived, but not something I hoped he would continue with going forward.

Despite all that, I had to give him serious points for the location. No one would find him out here unless they knew what to look for. No one from Brockton Bay would want to live in the location that pretty much killed the city. For that reason, I doubted the locals would even consider it as a possible base of operations for a cape unless clued in somehow. Too taboo, I guess.

Sebastian guided our craft around one of the wrecks so that the city was hidden by its bulk. I expected some kind of hole or door or something but it was seamless except for the mooring hook he started to tie us too. That in itself was odd. It didn't look like a natural part of the ship but I couldn't see how he attached it to the hull. I couldn't help but be slightly impressed when he placed his hand on the side of the ship and the door appeared. It indented, sliding to the right revealing a hallway that looked at odds for how the ship was positioned. Considering how the ship was laying the hallway should have been skewed, but it looked normal.

He picked up and tossed his duffel inside before he climbed in with an ease to make anyone jealous. If it wasn't for his steady hand, I probably would have fell into the water. As it was I just barely managed to get inside dry when a strange feminine voice broke the silence scaring me to the point I almost jumped back ruining his efforts to keep me dry.

"Biometric scan complete. Welcome aboard Commander. Sensors detect one unregistered organic presence. Data corruption. Unable to verify identity. Deploying defensive countermeasures."

"Damn it, of course you're not wearing your omni-tool." Sebastian muttered as he picked up his bag slinging over his shoulder. Then he raised his voice projecting it to the empty hallway. "Chatika, belay that. Upload file Xray-674553-Tango-42, Matriarch. Add current bio scan to file. Authorization Epsilon 6739, Omega Black."

He turned to me with a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry about that. Still working some of the bugs out of the latest update to her software."

I gulped. "Defensive countermeasures?"

"Of course. I have a lot of sensitive data here. Not to mention my weapons. I'd rather blow this place to hell then let them fall into the wrong hands."

Before I could reply the computer spoke again. Now that it wasn't threatening to kill me, which I have absolutely no doubt Sebastian's 'defensive countermeasures' were lethal, I thought I recognized the voice. Weird as that was. It was the same voice print he used for his drone during our trade with Uber and Leet. "Authorization updated. Request access level for new user."

"Full access."

"Specter Status verified. New user file update; complete. Greetings Matriarch. Welcome aboard."

"Err, thank you?" I half replied, half asked. I felt really uncomfortable talking to the empty hallway so I turned back to Sebastian who seemed amused by it.

"What kind of countermeasures do you have in place here?" I asked half fearing the answer.

"Kinetic barriers, sentry turrets and combat drones. Traps in the floors and walls going through most of this hallway. If those were to fail, Chatika has instructions to scuttle the ship as completely as she can using the main reactor."

I blinked owlishly at him behind my glasses. "Reactor? How the hell did you build a reactor in a week?"

Sebastian looked confused by my reaction as he explained. "Only took a few days. Its a small geothermal design we used on Mindoir all the time. There not really that difficult to make with an omni-tool, a drone, and a fuck ton of omni-gel. Light metals for gel is plentiful in these old ships, just had to send the drone out to get it. The hole could have been the hard part, but the drone did all the work. I just had to build the generator and the vent cap. It's not like I'm trying to power a Kilimanjaro class dreadnought with it. It's just to supplement half dozen drones and keep the lights on."

"And the artificial intelligence?"

"Virtual Intelligence actually, or V.I. for short, and yes, I designed her to help with what I'm doing. Chatika runs all my underwater salvage and construction drones, as well as the bulk of my manufacturing now. Like I said, I've made a lot of improvements to the place in the last week."

"Is it common to name your computers where you're from?" I asked still trying to get a grasp on everything he was telling me.

He touched a panel closing the door behind us. "Not really. Some of us did. I patterned her off Glyph, Liara's drone. However, she got pretty secretive after she became the Shadow Broker. Wouldn't let me have access to parts of his program. Since I didn't know how she did it, I used a lot of quarian scripts in Chatika's build instead. She ended up a tribute to an... old friend."

At my questioning look he continued. "Chatika was what Tali called her drone." I winced, but thankfully he didn't see it as he started leading the way deeper into the ship. "Besides, spend enough time talking to it and calling it 'computer' or 'machine' gets old."

I followed silently. When I turned the corner at the end of the hallway I found it opened into an enlarged space that stopped me in my tracks.

I was surprised to see the floor was covered in some kind of thick, black rubber matting. The walls were about what I was expecting being riveted steel. Power cables ran along them haphazardly easily taking up a third of the space. What I didn't expect was all the gadgets hanging from the ceiling that looked like a combination of projector, camera, and launcher. They were strung together by thick cables similar to the ones along the wall. My thoughts returned to what his idea of counter measures could be. Yeah, definitely lethal. Thankfully, I didn't see any along the floor.

In the center of the room was a circular platform. Kind of. I had no idea what it was for, except that I hoped it wasn't the reactor he built. When he walked close to it a holographic representation of Brockton Bay suddenly appeared in incredible detail which pretty much solved that mystery. Complete from Captains Hill on the outskirts to the bay itself.

It disappeared once he moved away from it heading toward the right corner of the room. He walked past a huge screen but it wasn't like anything I'd seen before. It wasn't physical, but holographic like the map was. There was even a couch sitting in front of it.

"How the hell did you get a couch in here?" I couldn't help but blurt thinking of his little boat. My imagination gave me the image of him cruising along with it floating behind him. Probably the least of the questions I should have been asking but it was the first out of my mouth.

Sebastian laughed as he finally reached what looked like a work desk. Except it was full of techno junk in various forms of completion. He let his duffel drop to the floor next to it before he removed his omni-tool attaching it to some kind of docking port. "Found it in the cargo hold. Along with a lot of the furniture here. I was pretty impressed with how well it was preserved, all things considered, but that had more to do with how the hold had weathered time than the efforts of whoever did the packaging."

I watched stunned as he knelt down to his bag to remove his laptop from it similarly connecting it to his network. The computer, Chatika, interrupted before I could ask my next question. "Commander?"

"Yes?"

"Power levels have dropped to sixteen percent. Currently reserves are insufficient to maintain optimum levels. In point three-six-two hours I will need to begin operational triage shutting down non-critical systems to maintain functionality."

"I thought you built a reactor that provided plenty of power?" I questioned. This whole thing was very confusing without the answers I had contradicting themselves moments after I got them.

"It does. She's referring to my other reactor. For most things the G.T.R. works fine. However, I still need something that can generate mass effect fields for the drones, and the reactor can't do that. Not without eezo, which I haven't been able to track down yet. Best I can do is supplementing their power supply."

"Oh. So, what? The lights are going to shut off in half an hour or you just lose your drones?"

"No, the lights will stay on, but I'll have to charge the system myself. I need the drones to keep working." Sebastian sighed. "Which is inconvenient since doing that will pretty much wipe me out. Charging the system requires me to deplete my biotics. I haven't managed to do more than crawl onto a flat surface before passing out since I built it. I usually do it later in the day but I didn't last night."

"Oh." I replied. Because he was stalking the school. Right.

I pushed that awkward though to the side. Still, if he did that it pretty much put an end to my thoughts of a movie.

"I can take you to shore first if you like?" Sebastian hesitantly offered.

I looked around thinking about it. It was still fairly early in the day and I really wasn't looking forward to going home and explaining to Dad what I was doing out of school. "I don't mind waiting, if that's alright?"

I smiled when he did. "That's fine." He turned slightly pointing out different things. "That's the kitchen, workshop, Head, and that's me. Feel free to have the run of the place. Chatika will give you access to whatever you need."

"Thanks. I guess I'll see you in a few hours?"

Sebastian nodded before he walked to the room he said was his. I stood there slightly uncomfortably until the hatch closed. I looked around a bit but I didn't even know how I was going to kill the time ahead.


	22. Camera One 8

**Camera One 3.8**

I walked over to the couch sitting down. As I did I realized I was still holding our lunch. It wasn't going to be any good later so I opened the bag. Not having anything else to do I pulled a burger taking a bite.

"Matriarch?"

"Yeff?" I garbled trying to swallow my half chewed food. I looked around stupidly knowing there wasn't anyone to look at. It took me a moment to clear my airway to talk.

"Um, yes?"

"There are currently six projects that require updating. Would you like to do so now?"

"Um, shouldn't Sebastian do that?"

"Authorization requirements only necessitate a Specter Status User. Commander Shepard is currently incapacitated. You are the only other Specter on record. Would you like to view the files?"

"I don't know…" I hedged. I didn't want to invade his privacy, even if I was curious. "Can't it wait for Sebastian to wake up?"

"Affirmative. Warning; completion time of all projects will be delayed accordingly."

My curiosity was starting to get the better of me as I thought he didn't really want any of his projects delayed. That was why he went to charge, whatever it was he charged to keep them working. "Oh. Um, okay. I guess, show me the first one?"

In front of me, what looked like a semitransparent, three foot page appeared. I read through the content getting the gist of it fairly quickly. It looked like he tasked his computer to hack into local servers to speed up access to the internet. How he was doing it I didn't understand, but I understood that he wasn't happy with using the wireless relay stations he set up through marker buoys in the bay.

I shook my head. Of course he was stealing internet access. I don't even know why I was surprised anymore.

"How do I go to the next page?"

No sooner than I asked, the page moved to the next. "Is there an easier way for me to do that? Preferably without having to ask for it?"

"Yes." Chatika replied. "Omni Interface can be obtained via omni-tool."

"I don't have that."

After a moment something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look noticing a large glowing green arrow pointing downward at something on Sebastian's desk. "Additional hardware can be found here. Please move to the marked location."

I smiled bemused as I put down my food and walked to Sebastian's desk. Where the green arrow was pointing sat two small bracelets. I bet he never had to worry about losing his keys with this set up. "Are these omni-tools?"

"Correct. However, they differ from combat models on file as they only allow access to this systems holographic interface. To use, attach hardware to your wrists. I will update the program to match your physical configuration."

I put them on and waited for a moment before my hands became encircled by two omni disks. I returned to the page not even realizing I was hurrying to do so.

This was so cool.

It only took about five minutes for the computer to run me through the tutorial. As I got used to Sebastian's set up I couldn't help but think, this was the only way to use a computer. Despite the fact I didn't like what he planned for his internet access, I went ahead and confirmed the next step.

The next few files all concerned his underwater salvage operations. As I read through the files I found he was stripping the sunken ships for materials. Starting first with all the light medals which he was converting to omni-gel and storing them until needed in containers built from heavier metals cut from the ships hulls.

That interested me a lot. With enough drones, Sebastian could do what the city couldn't. Reopen the bay and its shipping lanes. I wasn't an expert in social engineering but even I knew that the ratio of haves and have not's was horribly skewed in the Bay. There was practically no middle class. Those on the lower tiers ended up working with villains just get make ends meet. Like Mr. Gerry. I frowned a bit at the guilty feeling that came with thinking of the Irishman. I kinda wanted to check up on him but couldn't without revealing who I was. That and I don't think he'd appreciate a visit from Matriarch so soon, if ever all things considering.

I shook my head refocusing on the information in front of me. There wasn't anything I could do about that now. But, if Sebastian could clear out even just a few of the ships to create a safe passage, Brockton Bay could bounce back stronger than ever. Dad might even be able to reopen the ferry again.

I smiled thinking about all that. That would make dads decade. "Chatika?"

"Yes Matriarch?"

"Taylor. Um, just refer to me as Taylor when I'm not in costume, okay?"

There was a pause that made me think Chatika was thinking about it. Just how far did Sebastian go into her programming?

"Preferences updated. How can I help you Taylor?"

I gestured to the file floating in front of me. "How long would it take Sebastian's drones to reopen at least one shipping lane."

"Approximately one year, three months, twelve days to clear space for the standard 'Capesize' ocean going cargo vessel rated to a maximum of one hundred and fifty thousand dwt, to traverse the bay without risk of damage."

I shook my head at that answer. "No hours, minutes and seconds?"

I blinked at the dry tone used in the computer's strange accented reply. "I can extrapolate if you desire. However, based on extranet research, most humans tend to find that irritating."

Well, nothing like getting put in your place by a smart ass computer to make you want to get back on topic. "Right, no that's okay. Um, how much can we cut that time? With resources Sebastian has access to."

I waited while the computer worked. It didn't take long to reply. "At best, if all efforts were to be tasked to this objective, time frame can be narrowed down to nine months and ten days. However, this will significantly delay other priority projects as well as place severe limitations on the commander. At minimum, fifty more drones would need to be constructed and powered. Without sufficient upgrades this system in unable to effectively administer more. Commander Shepard would be extremely limited for the duration of the operation."

I didn't like the sound of that. I had a suspicion he was taking a risk of a blowout every time he charged his system as it was. "And if we had Element Zero and upgraded your system for the drones?"

"With sufficient quantities of Element Zero and sufficient upgrades to allow for management of two hundred drones without compromising other systems, the operation could be completed in two months, four days."

I whistled. Two months. We could reopen shipping in just over two months if we did this. That was unbelievable.

"Show me what you would need."

"Processing request. Please wait."

I started pacing as ideas rolled through my head. After a few laps around Sebastian's living room, or command center depending on how you looked at it, I noticed my nearly forgotten cheeseburger. I picked it up to finish it off as I waited.

I was returning from the small kitchen where I disposed of the wrapper when Chatika finished and brought up an outline of everything we would need. I felt myself sinking back down to reality as the full extent of what we needed was laid bare in glowing orange and gold letters in the displayed graph.

"Holy shit. That's a lot of steps."

"Displayed operational process is accurate within established parameters."

"Maybe we should change the parameters then. That looks like it would take a lot longer than two months."

"Correct. Preparations are projected to take one month and sixteen days."

I sighed. So that actually added to the time frame making this thing closer to four months. "Are there ways we can cut that down too?" I asked. I shook my head avoiding some of the more complex equations I saw. If I was going to get involved in this stuff I really needed to let Sebastian teach me what all that garbled stuff meant. Maybe I should take him up on his offer to let him teach me engineering. Especially if all this really wasn't just tinker craft and I could actually learn to do this.

Being so lost in my own thoughts I hadn't noticed the long pause from the computer until it started talking again. "Operational updates required."

"Damn, and Sebastian is sleeping right now…"

"With your permission Taylor, necessary updates necessitate only that I divert thirty percent of my operational matrix to the task."

"You can write your own code?"

"Commander Shepard has granted the necessary algorithms for self-updates within very strict guidelines."

"So, that's a yes then?"

"Yes."

"And these updates won't cross those guidelines?" I asked cautiously. I had no idea what they were but if Sebastian felt they were needed, I wasn't going to question it.

There was no pause in its answer. "No."

"This isn't going to shut you down for a while is it?"

"No. I will still remain fully functional during this process."

I nodded satisfied. "Okay."

"Update in progress. Would you like to view the other files waiting updates?"

"No, Chatika. Bring up Sebastian's search on Element Zero."

"Of course."

_XxXExiledXxX_

Around me in a semicircle floated dozens of screens. Files, web pages, a couple of muted videos ran around me as I moved my attention from one to another taking it all in. All of them focused in some manner to the topic I was researching.

"Okay, you win." I muttered as I leaned back into the bar stool backing I was perched on.

"It was not a competition, Taylor."

"Uh-huh."

I noticed the little drone floating to me out of the corner of my eye. I turned to it accepting the steaming cup of coffee it was bringing me. "That's why you sound so smug, right?"

When Chatika didn't reply, I smiled behind the coffee cup I was drinking from. It tasted just as good as Sebastian's. "Thank you for the coffee."

"You are welcome Taylor. How would you like to proceed?"

"There's nothing we can do now. They're all dead ends."

"One lead has not yet been explored."

"Don't remind me…" I muttered as I took a sip.

"Taylor? What are you doing here?"

To my embarrassment, I spit out the coffee I was drinking as I lept from the stool. Through my surprised reaction to Sebastian's sudden appearance I lost my grip on the cup causing it to fall, splashing the coffee it still held over the floor and my shoes.

"Don't do that! You scared the hell out of me…" I started to say as I turned to him only to spin around and face the other way. A mortifying nervous giggle broke out before I could stop it as I tried to answer his question. "Um, you brought me here?"

There was a moment's pause before he replied. "Right. Sorry, charging that system really takes it out of me. How long was I asleep?"

"Commander, you have been inactive for ten hours, eighteen minutes."

My intake of breath at how much time had passed was echoed by Sebastian's grunt. However, other things kept intruding on my thoughts than how long I'd been occupied by his computer and my research. Things like trailing water droplets and skin…

"Are you alright Taylor?" I heard from behind me.

"YUP! Um, yes. Yeah! I'm good…"

"You seem really flushed. You didn't try any of the cylinders in the cooling unit did you? They weren't meant for organic consumption."

"No…"

"Commander, I have been monitoring Taylor's biometrics and all is normal. I believe her current state is a result of your lack of apparel. I think the organic term for her condition is 'aroused'.

"I hate you so much Chatika." I muttered as I hid my face in my hands.

Sebastian was quiet. I was sure that in my embarrassment I somehow managed to break the laws of time considering how long the next few seconds took to pass.

"I see." I was relieved to note how uncomfortable he sounded was now that he realized he was...without apparel. "I...should probably fix that."

Part of me, a really naughty part that I was having a hard time shutting up, didn't like this idea very much. However, the more rational part of my brain ended up winning out. "That would make conversation much easier."

"Right."

As I heard the hatch to his room clang shut, that traitorous part of my mind thought this didn't feel very much like a win.

I looked up from my hands to glare at the ceiling. "You could have told me he left his room to take a shower. Better yet, you could have reminded him that I was here so he didn't walk out _naked_."

"I had assumed he was aware of your presence since you informed him of your plans to remain. It was unanticipated the commander would be incapacitated to the extent of short term memory loss. Regardless, those preferences were not on file. If you desire, I can update my systems accordingly."

I knew I was going to regret it, but I said the words anyways. "Yes, do so."

"Preferences updated."

I frowned at the screens still up trying to pull myself away from the momentary flash I got. I took several deep breaths, and an act of will I didn't know I had to do it. Once I managed to recenter myself I killed the time while Sebastian dressed to clean up my mess.

He walked out of his room just as I refilled my coffee. I looked at him before lowering my eyes. I kept them on my coffee as my blush burned across my cheeks.

I heard Sebastian take a seat across from me. "I really am sorry about that. When I woke up I couldn't think straight. The only thing I could think about was a hot shower and a cup of coffee. I didn't mean…"

"It's okay. Really, it's fine. Just an accident…"

_A happy accident..._ A traitorous part of me thought.

I took an awkward drink still keeping my eyes down for the most part. They kept flicking upward to make sure he was actually dressed. I jumped a little in my seat when he started talking. "You've been busy. What are you researching?"

"Possible locations of Element Zero." I muttered.

"You spent the day looking for eezo?"

I nodded. "Chatika wanted some of your projects updated. You gave me full access so she took that to mean I could do that for you. You made a bit of a deal about not wanting your projects delayed so I looked through them. Hope you're not mad…"

"Not at all. Chatika, bring up the changes Taylor made to those projects please." I looked up seeing a set of smaller screens to the ones I was using spring up around him. Sebastian nodded his head to what he was finding.

"Thanks. Looks like you followed the plans I outlined for the most part. Why the divergences in these though?"

I pointed with my cup of coffee to the screens by the main setup where I was working. "Chatika would you bring up 'Project Undine' please?"

"Of course Taylor."

The screens I had up all vanished and were replaced with a host of others. More than those that originally hung there. I saw the surprise on Sebastian's face as he rose to check them out.

I rose as well following him feeling like I was walking on pins and needles. I tried to gauge his reaction to what he was reading but couldn't see anything except for intense concentration. After a moment he asked for the omni bracelets I was wearing before he started cycling through it all.

I couldn't help but be impressed as he assimilated everything we had put together. He moved from one page to the next, sometimes checking others before going on to the next segment. Just from watching him use the interface you could tell he spent his whole life using this kind of technology.

"So that's why you were researching eezo." Sebastian stated as he finished reading through my work.

I nodded. "What do you think? I mean, can we do this?"

"I can't see how I can say no. Not with how much you've already put into it. Besides, I had intended to do that anyways since it would make getting supplies easier. I just hadn't planned on it for a while since it would take so much effort. It will take a lot of effort, Taylor. Are you sure about this?"

"You have no idea what it would mean to the people of the bay if we could reopen shipping. Chatika thinks it won't delay many of your projects by much more than three weeks and actually it will speed up several others by months."

"That is accurate. The only projects that will be significantly delayed will be 'Project: Sir Isaac Newton'. All time requirements for projects in the armaments file will be drastically reduced." Chatika confirmed.

I smiled at Sebastian's chuckle. "Faster weapons development eh? You really know how to sweeten a deal, Taylor."

I chuckled myself at his comment. I knew that would clinch this. "Thought you would like that. However, just because I don't mind you making these things doesn't mean I want you using them causally. This isn't the Alliance, Sebastian, and we're not fighting a war. I know there's going to come a time when we'd need to have the best weapons we can lay our hands on but that doesn't mean I'm okay using them in our day to day."

"Endbringers." I heard him mutter half under his breath.

I dry swallowed but nodded. I could practically feel the mood chilling the air at just mentioning the name of the greatest threats to all life on the planet. "There are villains that don't play by the rules, and yes, Endbringers. I know this isn't your planet, Sebastian, but it is mine. I don't know if we can make a difference in an Endbringer fight, and just thinking of being a part of one scares the hell out of me to be honest. But, I think we should try. Even if the difference we make is only a small one."

I watched Sebastian nod grimly. "I'm in, but I'm sure you figured I would be. I haven't done a lot of research on Endbringers yet but we can look into it after we get some eezo. Did you find anything we can use in your searches? Anything I missed?"

I sighed content with the change of topic. Even if it was only just a little less awkward than the prior one. "No, and that wasn't for lack of trying."

"I take it you know what that means then? It would kill two birds with one stone."

"Yes it would, though I still don't like it. I understand why you want to help your Fence…" I saw his eyebrow raise at my knowledge. I shrugged at his reaction "Blame Chatika, she's the one who showed me the file."

Sebastian shook his head looking bemused as I continued. "Anyways, I know you want to help him but what you have planned isn't the best way. We came up with a better one but it still involves you having access to the servers inside since the encryption is too advanced for an outside hack. Not without giving away someone did something. I spent some time trying to find a way out of it but if there's a way, I can't find it. I saw your search results and know you didn't have any luck earlier either when you were putting your plan together."

That was a surprise when I came across those files. When Sebastian suggested we rob a bank earlier, the first thought on the matter was he was just looking for a larger infusion of cash. I had no idea until I read his search results that he looked hard for another way without having to commit to more active villainy. "I'm sorry, but Chatika also showed me the logs from your cell and messenger accounts. So I know the other reason for you wanting to hit Bay Central."

Sebastian looked to the pages that still floated around us for a moment before he looked back to me. His facial expression neutral. "Fairs fair. Looks like we both walked on the others personal space a bit today. No harm done and as Tali used to say, 'No secrets between shipmates makes for a more understanding crew'. Things usually work out better that way. Less drama. So, what now?"

I breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't mad at me. I read those things before I realized what they were and I really felt bad about it. Not that there was anything privet in there to be exposed. It was just a privacy issue which I didn't like breaking but couldn't do anything about by then. I looked him in the eyes smiling slightly letting him know I appreciate his stance. "Set up a meet with Tattletale. Looks like we're robbing this bank after all."


	23. Camera One Interlude Annette 3

**Camera One Interlude, Annette 1.3**

"You robbed a bank?"

I smiled slightly at the tone Annette used in her question. It was amusing to me how her face was split between equal parts disbelieving, disapproving, while also laced with complete surprise. She shouldn't have been, but she still didn't have the full story yet.

"Yeah. Actually, it isn't as hard as you might think. Helps if your people have the right skill sets for it."

"You know Taylor, it worries me that is the first place you go with my question."

I laughed at her comment. The look on Annette's face showed she was trying hard not to be amused by my reaction.

She might not have been Mom, but I could see a lot of her in Annette. Including a sense of humor at the oddest things. Like my first bank robbery. As I looked across what had become 'our' table, I couldn't help but compare them.

Physically, they were identical. Same long brown hair. Identical blue eyes. Both were tall and thin. They smiled the same way. Even had the same laugh. At least, from my memories of Mom. The differences showed themselves in other areas.

Like, how Annette never met this world's version of Dad. He was here, working in Brockton Bay as a foreman for Estate Paper, according to my research. From what I was able to gather they both even attended the same college and everything. However, this worlds Annette did not connect to Lustrum because, until a few years ago, parahumans didn't exist. Crazy how that one event could change things so much.

Some of the other differences also seemed to stem from that divergence. Annette wasn't nearly as self-confident as Mom. Annette mentioned she followed the path Gram had laid out for her whereas Mom rebelled against it. Could all that really be from Lustrum's influence? Mom never said but I always wondered about her time when she was, for all purposes, a henchman for the insane feminist during her college days. Until Lustrum started got more violent and ended up getting the whole lot of them killed. Thank god Mom had met dad by that point and had gotten out.

I shook my head. Talking with Annette did that to me a lot. She might not have been Mom, but I honestly felt closer to Mom since Annette and I started talking. I actually felt like I understood the woman who I idolized for much of my younger life.

"I suppose you could blame Sebastian, but I don't think he would take that as a bad thing." I dryly replied to her statement. "Pretty sure he would take it as a complement."

Annette shook her head. "Is, well, are you two still friends? Did he come over with you?"

I smiled warmly as I always did when thinking of him. "Yes, but he's away on business at the moment."

"Nothing illegal I hope." Annette said in a tone that suggested there could be only one right answer.

My smile widened. "No. He just had to check on something."

"Well, that's reassuring at least. He sounds like a very incorrigible personality. Has he been away long?"

"A little over a week now."

"That puts his departure about when you first came to see me. So you waited to look me up until he was traveling then."

"It just worked out that way, to be honest."

"I see. I think," Annette stated awkwardly. "I shall powder my nose before you continue."

I couldn't tell if it was from my lack of explanation to what Sebastian was up too, or what she'd learned so far from my story. "Okay. I'll be here."

Annette nodded before walking toward the bathrooms.

For just a moment I wondered if Annette was going to come back. I don't think I would have blamed her if she didn't. Hell, I was honestly surprised she stuck around this long. Had I been in her place, I don't know if I would have come back to listen to the crazy kid she didn't have talk about this shit.

I took a drink of my tea. I sensed two people in the bathroom. Both had been there for only a few minutes. As my eyes followed Annette, I took a sense of things through the bugs I had placed strategically through the area. Or, I should say I consciously sensed it. My power didn't exactly have an off switch and often times worked in its own. Like a reflex. Being aware of all living things in my range was something of an old habit for me by this point.

Some people might have thought me paranoid that I kept an 'eye' on everything in my range, but it's not paranoia if people really are out to kill you. I clamped down on that thought before it could ruin the more relaxed mood talking with Annette put me in.

I knew before I actually felt for my connection that nothing worrisome was closer than seven blocks. I didn't have enough tagging people to give me a sense of what they were saying or to be easily noticed. Just a couple so I could trace movements. Not that I expected to be attacked, but I was quickly becoming a regular here, which means I had developed a pattern. That made finding me easier, even if the odds were damn near impossible that anyone would correctly guess which earth we were on.

I frowned rubbing my temple trying to stop the small throb of pain there. Just thinking of the multiverse always gave me a headache.

"Ma'am?"

I had felt the waiter approaching long before he spoke so it didn't surprise me when he was at my table. "Yes?"

The tall Hispanic waiter looked concerned as he addressed me. "Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you. It's fine. Just a headache." I assured him.

"If you are sure Ma'am." The waiter hesitantly stated before turning to leave.

"Miguel?"

The waiter stopped immediately before turning around with a sheepish grin on his face. As he did I took note that his name badge said he was Carlos. "Didn't' think you would recognize me. We only actually met a few times."

I ignored my old foot soldier's statement for the moment before I asked, "I take it that you, and the two others watching me, were sent by _him_?"

Miguel nodded. The smile on his face bloomed fully as I revealed that I knew about his accomplices. "Just until he gets back Ma'am."

I nodded. I figured as much when I recognized him earlier in the week. "Fine, But its rather redundant considering I have the surrounding seven blocks under my own 'watch'."

"You know the Commander."

"Yes. Yes I do." I sighed. Still, I couldn't help but be warmed by his concern. Annette leaving her stall drew me back into the present. By the time she started washing her hands I had managed to recenter myself. "That will be all, Gunny."

If he was surprised I recalled his old rank, he didn't show it except for a slight stiffening of his posture and the crisp reply. "Yes Ma'am."

_At least he didn't salute._

As I watched him walk toward the kitchens I couldn't help but smile. Miguel was one of the first normal to join my 'gang' back in the day. Back then he was undisciplined, rash, and prone to anger at the littlest things. Then again, losing your entire family to the Slaughter House Nine would do that to a guy.

If I was to be honest with myself, I didn't think much of him at the time but I remember Sebastian said he had potential. Then again, I had a lot on my plate. Back then, I worried he'd end up a loose cannon we couldn't afford. We already were having a hell of a time with the P.R.T. Sebastian thought differently and assured me he'd be fine. Seeing him again reminded me that I wasn't as alone as I'd been feeling.

Then again, maybe it was all this reliving the beginnings that was putting me in that headspace.

I looked up and out of my thoughts when Annette sat at the table. "Much better. Now, I believe you were going to tell me about this heist of yours."

"Robbery." I corrected glad she decided to stick around. I hope she didn't regret it later. "A heist is more along the lines of sneaking in and out. Preferably without leaving behind any evidence or being caught. The robbery was more a smash and grab operation."

"I'll correct my statement from earlier. It concerns me that you know the differences between those two things."

I smiled slightly. "Helps when you've done both."

Annette blinked. "My, but you did get around that scene didn't you?"

I winced. Even though I was getting more comfortable with Annette and could separate her from my Mom, there were moments when her tone of disapproval caught me by surprise. Made me wonder if Mom would have thought that, or reacted that way. "You could say that."

"I'm sorry Taylor," Annette apologized. "I didn't mean to upset you. I am just very surprised by all of this. I don't know what I expected when you started sharing, but a lot of what you've told me wasn't it."

I smiled a weakly. "It's okay." I took a sip of my drink before I continued. "I know all of this is really outside of your comfort zone. I've gathered you're a bit of a straight arrow."

At Annette's confirming nod I continued as I used my straw to stir my drink. "Back then, I was too in some ways. While breaking the law used to bother me, it was a minor thing compared to what we were trying to do."

"There must have been other options."

I shrugged my right shoulder. "Sure, we could have done nothing like everyone else was. Just let the city continue to fester and rot. They had years to do something about the bay and they never did. Alexandria, by herself, could have opened the shipping lanes back up in under a day. There were other local heroes who could have done it, but no one did. A person could be excused for thinking it was almost as if someone didn't want the bay to get better."

"I'm sure it wasn't like that."

My smile was bitter at her statement but I didn't reply. I knew the truth. If she stuck around to hear the whole thing, she would too. "Besides, Sebastian was a D.C. Sure, we could have spoofed them into thinking he was a tinker who just had a really good understanding of his powers, but we were just teenagers. No one was going to listen to us. Even in costume. We couldn't do it alone but I was determined we were going to do it."

"Which brings us to you working with, what did you call them, villains?"

I smiled at the distaste in Annette's expression. "Yeah, I felt the same way at first. However, without eezo all my plans wouldn't happen for over a year. So, Sebastian messaged Tattletale to meet…"

_XxXExiledXxX_

It took three days before we got a reply from Tattletale. I was supposed to be in school right now. Instead I was sitting quietly in an office chair Renegade found somewhere in the old factory we set up in. Not that I was complaining or anything. I think it said something about Winslow that I'd rather be here, possibly waiting to be attacked by a strange villain, than be attending my classes with the likes of Emma or Sophia.

Renegade sat to my right looking at his omni-tool which was sheathed around his arm. Eyes glued to the monitor he had up. I didn't need it thanks to my bugs. I knew where she was. I'd known since she stepped into my range. I was getting a lot better at using my bugs as a sort of living radar.

Tattletale had stopped at the corner of Twenty Third and Mariposa. Just down the road from us. I turned to Renegade when he answered the call Chatika rerouted to to him through his omni tool.

"You're early. Yeah, front doors open. Third floor, can't miss it. Right."

I snorted at his comment. Unless Tattletale was blind and deaf, there was no way she couldn't figure out where we were once she entered the building.

I remained quiet as he disconnected the call and went back to watching the monitor. Instead, I occupied myself with going over the plan for this meet. When Tattletale finally arrived on the third floor with us, I sat a little straighter. I really hoped this didn't go down like our last deal.

"Chatika, reroute camera drone to small screen in my visor." Renegade ordered finally allowing the omni tool to fade away.

The computer's reply sounded in my ear piece. "Acknowledged."

Tattletale hesitated as she looked in our direction. Knowing why, I opened a path through the bubble of flying insects I had swirling around us. The insect shell I had created was composed of hornets, wasps, bees, dragonflies, and pretty much any and every flying insect I could get my hands on. I had more than enough that no one would be able to see inside the insect vortex. The noise they created was more than enough to prevent anyone from being able to hear what we said as well. Which was part of our plan. With the old metal walkway unobstructed, she could easily see where we set up. When her eyes fell on me I gestured to the char that was placed opposite of me indicating she should sit.

As she cautiously approached I looked her over. She was in costume, which didn't surprise me in the least. I would have had our roles been reversed. Her costume was lavender with thick black bars running the length. It kinda reminded me of a jester's outfit, but not one of the foppish versions that were popularized on T.V. More stylized, and skin tight. Her blond hair was flowing behind her though she didn't wear a full face mask. Instead, a domino mask obscured part of her face flaring out to the sides of her head. The only other adornment to her outfit was the stylized eye she had stitched on her chest. Looked like an artist rendition of the all Seeing Eye of Ra. If that wasn't a clue into her power, aside from her name, I didn't know what would be.

And of course, I noticed the pistol at her hip. I didn't expect her to come unarmed so it wasn't exactly a surprise. As Tattletale entered into the 'safe' zone where we waited I saw her look around as if surprised. Probably noticed the noise dampening field Renegade set up earlier so we could talk inside the bug shell.

I reached to my own hip taking out my pistol slowly. I kept my eyes on Tattletale who stopped walking at my action. She turned to look back only to see the pathway close up by a living wall of bugs. I ejected the clip placing both the weapon and clip on the small table that sat between the chairs.

Renegade sat quietly as if he was part of the background to my right. He didn't disarm. Not that I expected him too.

I leaned back in my chair folding both my arms and legs trying to look relaxed. After a moment Tattletale nodded to herself before she walked forward again. "With your power, disarming doesn't mean much."

"No, it doesn't." I confirmed.

Tattletale returned my comment with a vulpine grin as she finally sat down. "I love this. It's all very dramatic. Secret meeting between factions. Displays of power meant to impress and intimidate. Nicely done by the way."

"Glad it gets your seal of approval." I stated dryly.

If anything, my comment only had her smiling wider before she turned to Renegade. "I thought we were going to be meeting with just the two of us."

I felt my eye twitch at the tone in her voice. When I noticed her eyes immediately dart to me for a moment I wanted to swear for reacting. For his part, Renegade shrugged one of his shoulders. "That's why I told you to suit up. Matriarch has a thing for being in costume when we're running an operation. Besides, this is her show now."

Tattletale turned back to me with a light chuckle. "Funny how that works out. You know, I've been trying to recruit Renegade for months. Then suddenly you show up and its 'Renegade and Matriarch, Action duo'. People still can't figure out if your vigilante heroes with a penchant for kleptomania, or villains testing the waters."

"Somehow, I think our next operation will answer that question. However, can you answer mine?"

"Pretty sure I can. S'up?" She asked playfully.

"Renegade was supposed to send you a file for a certain substance we are looking for. Would only be found in meteorite impact sites. Did you find it?"

"Yeah, that mysterious rock you sent me looking for. You know, from what I could tell it's not remarkable or valuable in anyway. I'm dead curious why you want it. "

"Hopefully that condition isn't terminal, though I hear it can be in some cases." I blandly stated.

Tattletale chuckled at my comeback. "Not even a little hint?"

"Sorry. That information only comes with membership."

If anything her smile got bigger. "You want to recruit _me_ when you know I'm already with the Undersiders? You know, poaching is bad form."

I ignored her jab as I answered her. "I have, projects you could say, that I am looking to complete. While I am not fond of the idea of being an active villain, I'm unwilling to overlook any avenue that could speed them up. I wouldn't say no to the idea, but I have a feeling you're committed so we'll move on. Did you find it?"

"Actually, I did find some. Your offer couldn't have come at a better time for us. Assuming we can work together?"

"I think we can. I have conditions."

"Such as?"

"I control the hostages and what is done with them. Non-negotiable."

"I'd have to talk to Grue about that before I can say yes or no, but off the top of my head, I don't see that as a problem. What else?"

"Aside from an even split in the take between groups, only an understanding that if this turns out like the last time we tried making a deal with villains, I guarantee the result will be the same."

"Not all of us are like that."

"I hope not. Renegade thinks you can be trusted. I'm willing to trust his judgment though I have, concerns, about some of your team mates. Fact is, you need this job done, and we want that rock enough that we're willing to help you do it. We'll do what is needed to guarantee we pull this off, except for killing or seriously hurting anyone. If that's not good enough, then we'll have to take our chances looking for what we want on our own."

"That part's fine with me. I doubt Grue will have an issue with it either. You wouldn't know this, but we're not that kind of villains. We're not looking to make big names for ourselves. Just in it for fun and profit."

"Then," I said as I stood up reopening a portal in the bug barrier. "I think we have a deal. How long before we get our shipment?"

"Friday. Its already on its way." Tattletale replied smugly as she got up as well. "We'd like to do this on Thursday. About noon."

I nodded. That was fine by me. The sooner we got this done, the better.


End file.
